Berk Duel Academy: Rise of the Sacred Beasts
by Optimus524
Summary: Hiccup has now enrolled in the most famous Duel Monsters Academy, where he both hopes to become the next King of Games and find clues with his mother's disappearance. He'll make new friends and meet new rivals as he tries to stop a madman from acquiring three of the most dangerous cards in the world.
1. The Next King of Games

Hiccup was running through the streets of Domino city. He can believe his dumb luck not only had his clock at broke, but it had to break on the most important day of his life. Today was the practical test for his involvement in one of the most prestigious Duel Monster academies.

Hiccup was a 15-year-old boy with shaggy auburn hair and emerald green eyes. He had an army of freckles on his face, but the most important feature was the fact that he was wearing a prosthetic leg. In fact I was the part of the reason he didn't want to be late running about five miles from where he was staying to the arena was a bit more than he could bear.

Fortunately he grabbed everything he needed, his duel disk and his deck. This will be the first time he would play this deck and while he was confident that his cards could win he felt unsure whether he had the skills to pull it off.

He had or have only had this deck for about a month and been spending most of his free time coming up with strategies and combos with it. Though there was one thing he knew it was certainly blow away the people taking part in the exams, because these cards have never been released to the public.

Ever since he got this deck and hearing voices or more like whispers. He didn't know what they were but they sounded very familiar as if they had been with them all his life, but just hidden. However, he couldn't dwell on this because if he didn't get the arena in time you will be able to attend the Academy.

* * *

About half an hour later he arrived with just a second despair which was a great relief.

"Phew… Barely made it…" He breathed out heavily as he stumbled into the testing arena out of breath from all the running they had to do to make up for lost time.

"I see you made it," said a familiar British voice.

Hiccup smiled with his old friend Ragnar and judging by the look on his face he just pass. Ragnar was several inches taller than him and had very dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes.

He shrugged. "My alarm clock broke."

Ragnar laughed. "Isn't that always the way." He then looked at him seriously. "So you can reuse that new deck you've got."

"Absolutely."

"I'll be careful, because if you lose here it's all over."

Hiccup knew what he meant, he knew for fact that Ragnar was dyslexic now search had a hard time with written exams. He on the other hand is another problem having a hard time studying because of his medication he was in the same boat with Ragnar.

He then sat down with Ragnar as he waited for his turn to take his exam duel that'll determine whether or not he made it to Berk Duel Academy.

"So any good duellist?" he asked.

"Well, there's that guy," said Ragnar pointing.

"Alright new guy, you got two monsters staring you down. Do you A) Throw in the towel, B) Beg for mercy, or C) Run home to Mummy?" The proctor taunted to the boy on the opposite side of the field with a Vorse Raider and a facedown card.

"I'll go with D) None of the above!" the boy retaliated and activated his facedown card: Ring of Destruction. Hiccup was impressed as the applicant sacrificed his own monster to win the duel, bringing the proctor's points down to zero.

"Clever move, applicant," the proctor praised. "Welcome to the academy."

The boy bowed in respect. "Thank you."

"I see what you mean," said Hiccup as the holograms disappeared off the field.

"That guy is pretty good don't you think, Snotlout?" Hiccup turned his attention to a group of three boys in blue coats sitting just a little bit away from them. They guessed they were already enrolled in the academy since they had their blazers.

"Guess the rumour about him being some kind of whiz kid was true, huh Snotlout huh?" The second boy spoke to a dark haired boy that was leaning back in his chair with his arms stretched out behind his head.

"He's a punk," the one the Hiccup assumed to be Snotlout spat at his thuggish friends Dogsbreath and Clueless. "We went to Duel prep school for the past three years. We're ready for the Academy. These kids don't know what they're getting into. But they'll learn… the hard way, the Snotlout Jorgenson way." He finished with a smirk that all but spelled out trouble. Hiccup thought it be best to avoid him.

"I have to say that guy was pretty good," said Hiccup ignored everything Snotlout said and smiled to Ragnar as his excitement at seeing that last duel took him back over again.

"That's Speedfist Boilson," Hiccup almost jumped at the new voice. Next to them was a husky boy with very skinny legs. "It's said that he got the highest exam score out of all us applicants."

Hiccup whistled in amazement while Jason's eye widened. "Wow, me and Ragnar here just barely passed."

"Yeah me too. My name's Fishlegs' Ingerman by the way, nice to meet you two. I have this thing when I get test anxiety," said Fishlegs, his head lowered in what Hiccup thought to be shame. "I don't know how I won my match…"

"So you're in," Hiccup clapped Fishlegs on the back, for some reason this made him jump. "Congrats. I'm duelling next and we'll be joining you as soon as we win our duels."

Fishlegs turned to Hiccup. "Wait, you haven't duelled yet?"

Hiccup now looks slightly embarrassed. "No, I was sort of late."

"Then you might have a problem. I think this was supposed to be the last one."

Hiccup felt as if the building had fallen on top of him.

* * *

At the bottom of the arena sat a bunch of Duel Academy's upper chairmen and teachers. "Looks like we've got a pretty good crop this year." One of them said.

"Yes, indeed." Another teacher agreed.

Also right next to them, another teacher sat there silent not paying attention to the other teachers' talk. He was very muscular with very think black hair and judging from his stubble he did know how to use a razor. He wore a blue blazer similar to Snotlout, but had some gold shoulder plates and looked as if it was the sort of thing a general would wear on the battlefield. This was Dr. Spitelout Jorgenson, headmaster of the Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm, an elitist snob and Snotlout's father. He was about to get up and leave when he saw someone coming.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." A man in a black business suit appeared stopping Spitelout from leaving, much to his chagrin. "But one last applicants have arrived to take their exam, Mr. Jorgenson."

"Excuse me? Did you just call me, 'mister'?" Snotlout scowled.

"I'm sorry. I'm new here…"

"I have a PHD in duelling to earn the title 'Doctor' thank you!" Spitelout snapped a bit with some pride in his voice at his PHD. He then looked away. "Now tell the truant that they'll have to come back next year." The other teachers looked at him like he lost his mind, not that he really had it to begin with if one really knew Spitelout for a while.

"Come on, Dr. Crowler, we have time for one more."

"Yes, let's give these duelist his shots."

"He was just a bit late, that's all."

"LATE IS RUDE!" Spitelout finally snapped. He slammed his hands down, freaking out the other people around him immensely. "I HAVE NO TIME FOR SLACKERS!" Just then his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it "WHAT!?"

"It's Stoick."

"Oh, Chancellor Stoick." Said Spitelout, suddenly changing his angry tone to a pleasant one, making everyone watching him sweat drop.

"Just calling to make sure everything is running smoothly, Spitelout," said Chancellor Stoick. "We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last year." That made Spitelout bug out a bit, his eyes widening. "When you cut a third of our student applicants for some ridiculous reason. Calling you 'Mr.'. Whatever, just make sure everyone gets a fair shot!"

"Yes, of course, sir." Spitelout said as he hung up scowling. 'Furry–chinned windbag; doesn't he realize that there are enough talentless flunkies at this Academy? But he's the boss, and if he wants to give these slackers a duel…fine.' He then got up from his seat. "Pardon me, gentlemen, I'll be right back." He said then starting walking away.

"But sir, who will be the boy's duelling proctor? And which exam deck should we use?"

Spitelout just huffed and walked away. "Leave that to me." He pulled out a deck from inside his blazer, grinning evilly as a plan formed in his head.

* * *

"Hey Speedfist nice duel down there," said Hiccup as Speedfist sat down in front of them.

"Thank you," Speedfist replied politely.

"I just hope I'm that good."

"Come on, Hiccup. You're probably the best list here, no offence Speedfist," said Ragnar.

Speedfist raised his eyebrows, about to ask Ragnar what he meant before a voice over the loudspeaker called out.

"Will Hiccup Haddock please report to Duelling Field 4. Hiccup Haddock to Field 4."

"Well that's my cue," Hiccup placed his deck into his duel disk. He turned to Ragnar, "wish me luck."

"You don't need it!" Ragnar called.

"You certainly have confidence in him," said Fishlegs looking at Ragnar.

"Hiccup is the best duelist I've seen in my entire life."

"He'll have to be," said Speedfist looking down at the arena. "Look at who he's duelling."

Hiccup rode up in a platform to his duelling arena, seeing someone already standing on the other side waiting for him with a modified duel disk on his vest. His opponent was a bit intimidating, but he kept his cool.

"All right! Test time!" said Spitelout. Then the two of them were turning turned their duel disks on. "So, son, what's your name?"

"Hiccup. Hiccup Haddock."

Spitelout paused for a brief moment. That was the same surname as their Chancellor, but there is no way the two of them would be related. The Chancellor son would never be late for an important exam such as this.

"Well 'Hiccup Haddock', I'm Doctor Spitelout Jorgenson, head of the Obelisks Boys Dorm and the Department Chair of Techniques here at Berk Duel Academy."

"Wow, a department chair? From the way you were dressed I thought you were some kind of gym coach." Hiccup rubbed his head sheepishly, causing Spitelout to go red with anger.

"Now that he mentions it…" The boy left to Snotlout said as he took in Hiccup's comment on the Doctor.

"This guy's got some lip, huh Spitelout?" The other said.

Spitelout looked on with a smirk, "I think I'm gonna enjoy watching Dad mop the floor with our peg leg down there. I only wish he treated all the other second rate duellists that applied to this school the same way."

"Duel Vest On!" Spitelout snapped activating it and drew his five cards. Hiccup was amazed by the machinery.

"That's pretty high-tech, sir. How do I get one of those duel blazers?" Hiccup asked excitedly.

"Oh, a lot of hard work and extremely high marks." Spitelout answered. 'Of course, you have to be accepted first. Which I will make sure you don't.'

"Well, if that's the case I can make my own," said Hiccup. His carefree attitude and dismissal over the duel blazer reinforced Crowler's thought of him being a slacker. "But enough chit-chat, let's duel!"

Up in the stands were three people watching the duel that was about to take place. All three were Obelisks from the colour of their outfits. There was one guy and two girls. The one guy had long hair and blue coloured eyes and wore the white variation of the boy's blazer while the girls wore the female version. A blue and white blazer with a blue-mini skirt and blue heels. One had long golden blonde hair with bangs covering the left side of her face and steel-blue eyes while the other girl had long raven black hair and forest-green eyes. The blonde girl also had blue fingerless duelling gloves.

"This kid really must've ticked Spitelout off if he's the one duelling him," The raven black haired girl said.

"Or maybe he's really good," the blonde haired girl mumbled as she started to observe the duelling field. "What do you think, Wolflegs?"

"I think Heather might be right, Astrid." Wolflegs kept his arms folded at his chest. "He must've made Spitelout mad if he's wasting his time duelling a runt like him."

"I do wonder how we got that peg leg though," said Heather.

"I'm more interested in his duelling skills," said Astrid as the duel officially started.

Spitelout: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

"I'll go first," said Hiccup as he drew his first card. "Okay I think I'll start things off by playing Dragon Knight Meatlug in defence mode."

Everyone gassed as a very husky female warrior wearing dragon like brown armour with purple spikes and small dragon wings appeared. No one had ever seen a card like that before. (ATK 1300, DEF 2000)

"What's that?" Fishlegs asked leaning forward

"I don't recognise the card," said Speedfist sitting up.

"That's because it's never been released," said Ragnar. "You see Hiccup's mother worked at Industrial Illusions, you know the company at made the cards, while she designed an entire series of cards and gave them to her son."

"So, he's got a one-of-a-kind deck," said Speedfist looking down the field with great interest.

"Yes, but this is actually the first time he's used it."

Fishlegs' eyes widened. "Wait, you mean he has used this deck before today and he using it in an exam?"

"I know, but he was very adamant about using it. I guess we'll soon see what it's capable of wrongly."

"It will certainly be interesting," Speedfst admitted.

Spitelout was a bit shocked at first, but quickly shook it off. It in matter if he didn't recognise the cards he could outclass this runt with ease.

"And I'll finish things off with a facedown," said Hiccup placing a card in his spell and trap card zone and hologram appeared in front of him.

"Not bad, but not good either," Spitelout's duel coat shot out his sixth card. 'Of course since I'm using my own personal deck rather than those test ones, I'll be sending this slacker home in no time.' Spitelout.

He held up a spell card. "All right for this first mobile start nice and easy. I choose to play spell card Confiscation."

"That's not good," said Hiccup.

"Judging by your tone I believe you know what it does. By paying 1000 life points I get the chance to pick a card from your hand and toss one of your cards into the Graveyard."

Spitelout: 3000

Holograms of Hiccup's cards appeared in front of him. "Ah yes, I remember some of these from back when I was a naive rookie. Monster Reborn to the Graveyard!" Hiccup didn't seem the least bit upset over losing that card, Ragnar knew at once that he was planning on something big.

"Next I'll place two cards facedown." Two cards appeared facedown in front of Spitelout. "And then I'll play Heavy Storm!" A strong gust of wind blew over the field, destroying Spitelout's two facedown cards and Hiccup's facedown.

"I take it you have a very good reason of destroying your own cards," said Hiccup looking totally unfazed.

"Indeed since the cards I destroyed were Statue of the Wicked, I can summon out two tokens." Two hideous serpent-like tokens appeared on the field.

"A card that strong can't be in one of the test decks. Spitelout must be using his own," said Dogsbreath to the smirking Snotlout said.

"Then this duel is over. No one can beat the deck of an expert like my dad." The other boy said while leaning in his seat with anticipation at seeing Spitelout real deck.

"What an elitist snob," said Astrid with a scoff, "Bullying some kid with his very best cards."

"You're too soft, Alexis." Wolflegs spoke up, causing her to look over to him. "I just hope we get to see that legendary rare card Spitelout had stashed in that deck of his."

"It's said to be really powerful," Heather noted.

"So, do you feel like giving up yet?" Spitelout sneered.

"No, because by destroying my trap you activated it is a fact," said Hiccup. Spitelout gasped as a trap card appeared with Dragon emblem appeared. Its tail was curled and one of its fins was that. Hiccup then removed his deck from his duel disk and started a search for his deck. "Since you destroyed my Dragon Knight Emblem I'm allowed to search for my deck for a Dragon Knight card."

From the balcony, Astrid looked at the boy impressed. "How about that a technique the good doctor didn't know."

"No one is expected to know every technique Astrid," Wolflegs pointed out.

"But that kid sure knew it."

Heather a look at the battle with great interest. "You know he's as good as that Ragnar guy from earlier. I wonder what he's gonna do next."

Hiccup then showed Spitelout a seven star monster with a picture of a warrior in black armour. "And I choose my Dragon Knight Toothless."

"Toothless? Sounds like all bark and no bite to me," said Spitelout. "Let's see what you can do when I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens. To bring forth the Ancient Gear Golem!"

The two tokens disappeared in a flash of bright light, a giant man made out of old rusted metals and gears appearing coloured a rusted brown colour with giant clawed hands and a single red eye shinning towards the still Hiccup. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 3000)

Astrid gasped, "There it is! The legendary rare monster!"

"And I say were about to find out what makes it so legendary," said Wolflegs.

"I just wish it wasn't at the kid's expense," said Heather.

Spitelout smirked as he saw Hiccup remaining quite still. He assumed that he was paralysed by fear. "Now, now I hope you're not too scared of my legendary Ancient Gear Golem."

Hiccup shook his head. "Hardly, I'm just thinking of a way to take it down."

Everyone gasped at that comment.

"Either Hiccup's grave or he's nuts," said Fishlegs.

From the balcony Wolflegs looked at Hiccup as if he was crazy. "He staring down that legendary rare monster like he doesn't have a care in the world. I guess the youth and inexperienced have their benefits after all… huh, Astrid?"

"Come on, give it a rest Wolf at least the kid showing backbone, I'm actually starting to like him," said Astrid.

Wolflegs rolled his eyes. "There won't be much left to show for it after this."

Spitelout laughed. "Golem attack! Mechanised may lay Melee!"

The gears on Ancient Gear Golem began to turn and it send a powerful punch down upon Meatlug. However when the smoke cleared Meatlug was still standing.

"What happened?!" Spitelout yelled.

"It's called a special ability," said Hiccup as he discarded one card from his hand and placed it in the discard pile in his duel disk. "By discarding one card from my hand I can negate the destruction of my monster."

"At least he save his monster," said Fishlegs.

"True, but unfortunately when the Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in defence mode the difference between its attack point and the defending monster's defence points gets dealt to the opponent as damage," said Speedfist.

"But that would mean Hiccup's life points are going to take a hit!" Fishlegs gasped.

Hiccup knew the attack was coming and braced himself as the Ancient Gear Golem fist landed on top of him.

Spitelout: 3000

Hiccup: 3000

Spitelout laughed again as Hiccup fell to his knees. "Don't feel bad, this is the top duelling school in the country. Some people aren't simply cut out for—"

He stopped when he heard Hiccup laughing instead of what he assumed to be crying. Hiccup just smirked at him. "You know, for TG are not giving very helpful advice."

Spitelout felt the anger inside an increase. 'Can't he take a hint? He'll not be allowed to pass this exam and he certainly won't be permitted to make a mockery of my deck.'

Hiccup just smirked. 'And get some of the hidden nerve.'

He then drew his card and it was exactly the card he needed. It was a spell card that depicted an arena with warriors in dragon-like armour fighting one another and it was the exact card he needed.

Hiccup then grabbed the card he got from Dragon Knight Emblem. "Okay for my first move our sacrifice Meatlug in order to summon my Dragon Knight Toothless!"

He then traded his Meatlug with his Toothless and at once Meatlug disappeared and was replaced by another warrior in dragon-like armour, but unlike Meatlug this one was a tall male with very sleek black armour with large black wings and his face was completely covered by a visor. (ATK 2500, DEF 2200)

Spitelout looked outraged. "That's cheating, your monster is a seven star monster and to summon it you need a sacrifice to monsters."

"That's one of Toothless' special abilities you see I can sacrifice one monster instead of two as long as you have a monster out on your field," Hiccup explained.

"Well, you're certainly doing well for an amateur, but next time try and summon a monster with a bit more attack points than what's already out."

Fishlegs blinked and looked at Ragnar and Speedfist. "What's he mean?"

"He means that knight's attack points are no match for his Golem's 3000," said Speedfist.

"And despite its name Toothless has a lot more bite. You see when he destroys a monster that monsters attack points are dealt as damage to its opponents," Ragnar explained.

Fishlegs looked up. "Wait, you mean they're deducted right out of his life points? Ah, that would have great way for Hiccup to change things around."

"Well, if your friend is good as he says he is he might still find a way," said Speedfist.

Ragnar just smiled. "He always does."

"Speaking of which he seems a lot different in the arena," Fishlegs noted.

Speedfist nodded. "Yes, I've noticed that as well."

"For some reason Hiccup is always more confident when he duelling, he become so focused that is almost like a different person. You know when I first met him he was very timid and shy, when I duelled him was more confident and determined."

"Hmm, interesting."

Spitelout was now getting very bored. "All right young scholar I don't mean to rush you, but I am a busy man. Are you done yet?"

"Not even close and of course I knew my knight had less attack points than your Golem that's why I have this, Dragon Knight Arena." Hiccup then showed in the spell card he just drew and placed in his field spell slot.

And once the entire area began to change into some sort of battle arena. There were training dummies, weapon racks and all sorts of things for training powerful warriors. Above them was some sort of chained dome.

"All right, Toothless," said Hiccup. "Show them what you can do by attacking that Ancient Gear Golem."

Toothless then charged towards the Gear Golem is a very high speed.

"Fine with me," said Spitelout. "Bring him on. This silly little Arena field spell hasn't changed lowered my Gear Golem attack points by one point."

Hiccup just smiled. "True, but this Arena will certainly help my knight. You see since he's battling against a stronger monster is attack points get an increase of 1000!" (ATK: 2500-3500)

Spitelout stared in horror. "Wait, time out!" he yelled.

"Go! Plasma Blast!"

Toothless places hands together and began to form a purple orb of pure plasma. He then tossed it straight at Gear Golem and it went straight through his chest. Spitelout stared in horror and everyone else just stared as he exploded.

"This can't be!" he yelled. "He was my very best card!"

"I'm afraid it gets worse," said Hiccup. "You see Toothless has another special ability. When he destroys a monster the attack points about Gear Golem are dealt straight to your life points."

"No way," said Spitelout in horror.

He then crooked his neck backwards and saw to his horror that the remainders of his Golem was starting to topple right on top of him. He tried to run out of the way, but was too late and was squashed by the remains of his monster.

Spitelout: 0

Hiccup: 3000 (Winner)

"So, I guess I'm in this school now, huh Professor?" said Hiccup as the holograms vanished.

Spitelout just couldn't comprehend what just happened. "Impossible. There's no way this doing delinquent could have defeat me!"

Snotlout and his goons just stared dumbfounded. "It must have been dumb luck. No way dad could've lose to some loser."

Up in the stands Astrid whistled.

"That kid's got a future here, whoa," she said.

"Has someone got a little crush?" Heather teased.

Astrid glared at her. "I'm just saying that his duelling skills are very impressive." She then looked at Wolflegs, who just simply walked away, much to the two girls' confusion.

"Told you he could pull it off," said Ragnar.

"You suddenly called it," said Fishlegs.

Speedfist just smiled. 'Nice, I can use some competition.'

"One thing is for certain," said Ragnar placing his hands at the back of his neck. "This is going to be one interesting year."

* * *

Dragon Knight Meatlug/ ATK: 1300/ DEF: 2000/ Warrior/ EARTH/ 4 Stars/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. When this card is attacked by discard one card from your hand this card isn't destroyed.

Dragon Knight Toothless/ ATK: 2500/ DEF 2200/ Warrior/ WIND/ 7 Stars/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. If your opponent has a face-up monster on their side of the field you can summon this card with one less sacrifice. If this card destroys an opponents monster then the opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monsters original attack points.

Dragon Knight Arena

Field Spell Card

When an 'Dragon Knight' monster attacks, if its ATK is lower than the ATK of the attack target, the attacking monster gains 1000 ATK during damage calculation only.

Card Image: Arena in How to Train Your Dragon

Dragon Knight Emblem

Trap Card

If this card is sent to the Graveyard add one Dragon Knight monster card to your hand.

Card Image: Berk Dragon Academy logo


	2. Welcome to Duel Academy

Hiccup was sitting back in his chair on the helicopter that was taking him and the rest of the new students over to Duel Academy. Hiccup was sitting next Ragnar with Fishlegs taking the window seat behind Ragnar.

As they flew over the vast sea one thought kept on crapping in his head, he was heading to Duel Academy hopefully there will be able to get into the pro leagues and maybe someday he'll be able to challenge the King of Games, Yugi the Undefeated. He remembered meeting him once when he was just a kid and told him if he trust in his cards than his cars will trust in him and when that happened he would never truly lose.

He then chuckled to himself remembering that asked if the two of them would do when he was old enough. Yugi just smiled and ruffled his hair saying that he would be honoured. With that promising mind he then devoted himself to the game coming out every single tactic he could think of and slowly but surely he began winning.

A voice broke off Hiccup's thoughts. "Attention new Academy duellists," He heard the captain speaking over the intercom, "This is your captain speaking, if you look out your window you'll see your new home away from home."

Most of the students did just that as they saw an island clear in their sights, except Hiccup, who just sat back in his seat with his arms behind his head. Far away, it was mainly green due to the forest areas and even saw a volcano, which caused Hiccup to raise an eyebrow; thinking about all the issues that might come if that thing ever erupts. But the main attraction, the reason why they were all here, was the building in the centre of the island. It was a silver colour, surrounded by four tan spires. If you look closely, you'll see three dishes in the middle; a blue, yellow and red one in that order going diagonally down, one for all three Egyptian God cards if Hiccup remembered reading the pamphlet right.

"Next stop, Academy Island!"

* * *

Soon after landing, Hiccup and the rest found themselves standing in a large lecture room with a monitor in front of them. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were all wearing red blazers with grey pants. Hiccup did a quick look around and saw that there were other students wearing yellow and blue blazers. He knew that the blazers indicated which dorm they would go and their rank.

A man in his late forties or early fifties appeared on the giant screen before every new student. He must of a man with a thick red beard and bright emerald eyes. He wore a red blazer that was slightly darker than the one Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were wearing over a shirt and tie.

"Good morning and welcome my students," he said in a pleasant voice. "I am Chancellor Stoick, the headmaster here, and you are the best and brightest duellists in the world." Hiccup knew the Chancellor all too well and could barely look at him. "Now please, get yourselves settled in at your assigned dorms. I hope you find them quite comfortable; depending on how you ranked of course." He finished with a slight chuckle that caused others to chuckle as well.

"Good morning and welcome my students," he said in a pleasant voice. "I am Chancellor Stoick, the headmaster here, and you are the best and brightest duellists in the world." Hiccup knew the Chancellor all too well and could barely look at him. "Now please, get yourselves settled in at your assigned dorms. I hope you find them quite comfortable; depending on how you ranked of course." He finished with a slight chuckle that caused others to chuckle as well.

* * *

Hiccup looked at his Duel PDA that was given to every new student that enrolled here. He was sitting on one of the stone decorations by the main entrance to the academy with Fishlegs leaning on the same decoration he was sitting on and Ragnar sitting Indian Style on the grass next to them.

"Well, boys it looks were all in Slifer Red dorm…" said Hiccup.

Fishlegs' blinked. "How do you know?"

"Because the blazers indicate which dorm you're in," said a voice.

They looked up and found Speedfist, now wearing a yellow blazer, wandering over to them.

"I see you be heading to the Ra Yellow dorm," Hiccup noted.

"Yes, but I'm surprised that you're in the red dorm," said Speedfist curiously. "I mean you look quite an intelligent individual."

Hiccup rubbed his head nervously. "Uh… well, the thing is I'm sort on medication with my… leg."

"Ah, of course… my apologies."

"Anyway, see you around the dorms!"

"I doubt that," Speedfist turned back around to point them in a direction. "Your dorm is over there…" Sure enough, in the direction Speedfist was pointing; a silhouette of a small building was seen. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs all stared at what was their dorm before they all stood up and started walking on over after bidding Speedfist farewell.

* * *

Their dorm could use a lick of paint, as well with new floorboards, roof tiles and practically everything that would make it decent to live in.

"This here is our room…" Hiccup turned the knob and opened the door to their room, Ragnar and Fishlegs standing behind him.

Inside the room was a two-seated desk along the left wall, a window straight across from the door and a three-person bunk bed along the right wall. And near the door was a little stove with some cabinets beneath it. Kinda small, but they'll make due. It wasn't too bad.

"It's pretty small, don't you two think?" Fishlegs commented on the small room as him Hiccup and Ragnar stepped into the room. Ragnar hovered over the stove, kneeling down to check the cabinet sizes while Hiccup placed his bag on the floor by the desk.

"Yes, definitely for you, no offence," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs shrugged. "None taken, I've heard it more times than I can count."

"Well, it's not exactly surprising that it's so small," said Ragnar as Ragnar pull the curtains apart.

"What you mean?" Fishlegs asked.

"There are three coloured dorms here. One named after each of the Egyptian God cards. There's the Obelisk Blue students, the Ra Yellow students, and the Slifer Red Students. Now, the Obelisk Blue students are the highest rank. Most of them get into the school by really high grades while others get in by connections. The Yellow students are mostly younger students that have a lot of potential… and then there's us."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I believe he means that a lot of people look down on the Slifers because we're the lowest ranking students on the island… nothing but the bottom of the barrel," said Hiccup.

"Great," Fishlegs moaned.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I know what I'm doing this year…" said Ragnar. "I'm gonna show everyone that just because we're in red doesn't mean we're trash." Ragnar started sprinting out the door, grabbing Hiccup and Fishlegs by the shoulders. "And I'll start now!"

"Very excitable isn't he," said Fishlegs.

"You haven't seen nothing yet," said Hiccup.

* * *

They began wondering around the Academy and suddenly Hiccup notice something.

"Look! I found a duel arena!" Hiccup called out to his Ragnar and Fishlegs.

True to his word, a duelling arena was stationed where Hiccup was standing. The duelling field had a bunch of wires coming out of it with rows and rows of seats all around it. The entire academy can fit in here if everyone lined up!

Ragnar whistled. "This is the best duelling arena I've ever seen!"

"Do you think we're allowed in here?" Fishlegs asked nervously. "I don't us to get in trouble, especially on the first day."

Ragnar shook his head, "Nah, we're students here and this is our campus."

"Wrong. This is the Obelisk Blue campus." Hiccup and the others turned to see Dogsbreath and Clueless the folds of that Snotlout guy that Hiccup spelled out as trouble.

"And no Slifer Red rejects allowed, you got that?" said Clueless. He then pointed over their heads. "Check out the crest."

They turned and found the crest of Obelisk the Tormentor over the entrance they came through.

"This arena is our turf," said Dogsbreath.

"Sorry, we were just looking around, but will leave now right guys?" said Fishlegs.

"Well, we don't have to leave not so long as…" He then looked at the two thuggish boys in front of him. "You guys agree to duel me. I'll be a guest duellist."

The two of them looked at them and recognised Hiccup. "Wait, you're that duellist," said Snotlout.

"Snotlout! That applicant that beat your old man is here!" Clueless yelled. "Check it out!"

The three of them looked up and saw Snotlout looking down at them from the stands.

"But I've never duelled your father," said Hiccup.

Snotlout snarled. "His name is Snotlout Jorgenson and he is Dr. Spitelout's son," said Dogsbreath.

"Why am I not surprised," said Ragnar.

"And he's the number one duellist back in duel prep school. So you make sure you pay the proper respect got it?" said Dogsbreath ignoring Ragnar's comment.

"Yeah, and he's going to be the future King of Games," said Clueless. "The best duellist in the world."

"Impossible," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"Say what?" said Clueless.

"You see it's impossible for him to be the future King of Games, because my buddy here is going to have the pleasure of that title," said Ragnar gesturing to Hiccup.

"Please leave me out of this," said Hiccup.

Dogsbreath and Clueless just laughed pointing at Hiccup.

"A Slifer slacker as King of Games, that'll be the day," said Dogsbreath when he finally controlled his laughter.

"Can it you to!" Snotlout yelled. Everyone stared up at him. "Maybe he's right… Maybe the kids right."

Dogsbreath and Clueless stared at him blankly.

"What do you mean there Snotlout?" Dogsbreath asked.

"The runt did beat my father…" Hiccup could easily see the sarcasm that was in his voice. He seen that look before on every single bully that picked on him enough times. "And his legendary rare monster of his. I suppose it takes some skill to pull that off." Hiccup was correct on his suspicion of sarcasm when Snotlout threw a smirk over to them as he stepped down. "But then again, it could've just been dumb luck. I say we find that out right now…"He then looked down at Ragnar. "But I think I'll start with the guy with the lip."

"Well this certainly is a motley crew…" a new feminine voice called out.

All heads turned towards the direction in which the voices came from. Coming over to the group of boys were two girls wearing the Obelisks girls' uniform. The one with the golden blonde hair, with bangs covering the left side of her face and steel blue eyes was the one who spoke, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at the group of boys.

The raven black haired one with the forest green eyes spoke next, "What's going on over here?"

Hiccup was staring in admiration at the blonde, small blushes on his faces. "Wow… who are they?"

The moment the words exited his mouth he felt like an idiot, he didn't know why but he was always this uncomfortable around girls, especially pretty girls. He had this unusual stutter that he was very able to control and he always found himself hot under the collar it was very embarrassing.

Snotlout smirked over to the two, "Hey Astrid," he greeted to the blonde girl. "Hey Heather." Looking at the black haired girl. "Come to watch me wipe the floor with my friend Ragnar here? It'll be a short duel, but an entertaining one at that and then I'll be taken on the peg leg."

"We came to remind you about the Obelisks' Welcome Dinner. You're late," Astrid glared lightly.

"Oh yeah…" Snotlout mumbled.

"And it's not nice or cool to pick on the disabled," she added glaring at Snotlout.

"Let's go you guys," Snotlout ignored the last thing said as he and his lackeys walked off to the Obelisks Boys' Dorm, a plan forming in his head. "See you later, babe."

Astrid rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the remaining Slifers. "Sorry if Snotlout rubbed you the wrong way; all of us Obelisks aren't like that." She tried to assure them.

"Don't worry I'm used to it," said Hiccup.

Heather nodded her head, "He's just a jerk. Especially with Slifers…" she focused on Ragnar. "You have your own disability don't you?"

Ragnar at the back of his head. "Yes… I have dyslexia which is the mean reason why I'm in the Red dorm, but how did you know?"

"We saw your match and you were reading your card a bit longer than normal."

Astrid looked at Hiccup curiously. "How did you lose your leg if you don't mind me asking?"

Hiccup rubbed his stump as if remembering the pain. "Car accident, got it a few months ago still getting used to the prosthetic."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Astrid. She then smiled at him slightly. "Anyway, the Slifer Welcome Dinner is about to start too…"

"I would get a move on if I were you three…" Heather put in.

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs started getting into a jogging position, "Time to go!" Hiccup yelled as the three Slifers started to run. Before he made it all the way down the exit, Hiccup stopped to turn back to the girls. "What were your names again?"

Astrid smiled again, "Astrid Hofferson."

However gave the jogging Slifer a smile too, "Heather Valha."

"Hiccup Haddock!"

"And I'm Ragnar Keatson! Nice to meet you two!" Hiccup and Ragnar started to catch up to Fishlegs, who were waiting for him down the exit.

"Hey! Aren't you gonna introduce me!?" Fishlegs whined as the three Slifers turned their jog into a sprint to get back to their dorm in time for the welcome dinner.

Heather turned to Astrid, "They're gonna make this year interesting, aren't they?" she asked.

Astrid nodded in agreement with her friend, "Definitely…"

She was surprised to find that Hiccup's personality was entirely different to the one he had when he duelled Spitelout. She expected him to be all confident and cocky, but he was modest and a bit timid. Funny enough she found that pretty cute.

* * *

"This is our big fancy welcome dinner?" One Slifer student said to no one in particular.

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs had made it back to the dorm just before the dinner started and saw what they rushed for. A small dish of rice, sardines, and chopsticks with some sauces. Fishlegs' face-planted when he saw how little they were being given. Not the big welcome that he was expecting to have, although they shoulda seen something like this coming with the state of the dorm.

Hiccup shrugged. "It could be worse."

"How?" Fishlegs asked.

"At least we've got something that edible."

Then suddenly a beefy man entered, now he looked more like a gym coach than Spitelout. He was bald and had a blonde rope-like moustache. However, the thing that drew their attention was the fact that he had a prosthetic arm on his left arm and a peg leg on his right leg, he also had a metal tooth.

"Greetings, I'm Professor Gobber," he said in a Scottish accent. "Now what ya say we go right down and begin filling our bellies."

* * *

After the Slifer Dinner, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were now back into their room. The three of them were just relaxing in their room. Hiccup was sorting through his cards, Ragnar was reading a book and Fishlegs was reading a textbook.

Suddenly someone's Duel PDA went off. Process of elimination revealed it was Ragnar's. He had an incoming message. He almost closed it when he saw Snotlout's mug on his screen.

"Hey, Slifer slacker. Don't think you're off the hook. Tonight at midnight we duel at the Duel Arena. Oh, why do we make it interesting whoever winner gets the loser's best card."

Ragnar narrowed his eyes. "He is certainly persistent."

* * *

Soon Ragnar with Hiccup and Fishlegs' in tow were making their way to the Duel Arena.

"You sure you want to do this?" Hiccup asked.

"I agree," said Fishlegs as they entered the Duel Arena, the Academy Duel Disk on his left arm. "Isn't it bad to duel with the Ante rule?"

"Maybe, but I always like to put bullies in their places and I can't think of a better opportunity," said Ragnar. "Snotlout is gonna regret underestimating me. He's about to have a wake-up call and I can't wait to see this." The three Slifers entered the arena to find Snotlout and his lackeys already waiting for them.

Snotlout eyed Ragnar as he walked over to his side of the arena, "Hope you're ready to lose…"

"Funny, I was gonna ask you the same question," said Ragnar as he inserted his deck into the slot.

"Well aren't you the comedian," said Snotlout as he put his deck into his disk. The Slifer and Obelisk drew their five cards. "Time to lose, loser!"

Snotlout: 4000

Ragnar: 4000

"I'll start by summoning Reborn Zombie in defence mode." A zombie wearing black wrapped in mummy wrappings appeared onto the field. (ATK: 1000. DEF: 1600) Snotlout slid a card into the spell and trap card zone. "And then I'll place one card facedown to end my turn." He smirked over to Ragnar. "Make your pitiful move, Slifer slime!"

"Watch what you say," said Ragnar. "First activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away one of your facedowns."

A powerful gust of wind appeared and Snotlout's Bottomless Trap Hole was destroyed. "Lucky punk," Snotlout growled.

"Next I'll summon Marauding Captain." Then a warrior with a sword in either hand appeared. (ATK: 1200. DEF: 400). "And thanks to a special ability I can summon a number monster from my hand and I'll choose my Queen's Knight."

Then a female warrior appears with a sword and shield in our hands. (ATK: 1500. DEF 1600).

"You do realise that I have a monsters can destroy my Zombie," Snotlout laughed.

"True, but not unless I activate my spell card Rush Recklessly and increase my Captain's attack points by 700," said Ragnar showing him his spell card. Marauding Captain roared as his attack points increased. (ATK: 1200-1900). "Now my Captain will destroy your Zombie." His Captain swiped his sword against the Zombie which exploded. "And next my Queen's Knight will attack you directly."

Snotlout looked up just in time to see Ragnar's Queen's Knight striking him down with her sword.

"Ahh!" Snotlout yelled as it hit him. "You'll pay for that."

Snotlout: 2500

Ragnar: 4000

"Oh I'm shaking in my boots," said Ragnar mockingly.

Snotlout snarled as he drew his card. "First I'll play my Graceful Charity which allows me to draw free card so long as I discard two." He then placed two cards into his Graveyard. "Next I will feel my facedown card Call of the Haunted and I'll bring back my Chthonian Soldier." A warrior wearing dark armor holding a huge blade. (ATK: 1200. DEF: 1400)

"Hang on, since when did he had that in the Graveyard?" Fishlegs piped up.

"He must ascend to the graveyard when he activated his Graceful Charity," said a voice behind them. They turned and found Astrid and Heather standing there. "We thought that we might find you here."

"Come to watch the duel have you?" said Hiccup.

"Next I activate my Inferno Reckless Summon, this car allows me to summon all the copies of Chthonian Soldier I have in my deck." Suddenly two more Chthonian Soldier appeared (ATK: 1200. DEF: 1400)x2

"What's Snotlout up to…?" Hiccup muttered.

"Now I play the equip spell Chthonian Alliance!" A stream of dark energy wrapped itself around one of Snotlout's soldiers, increasing his size by three. "What this does slacker is increase my monster's points by 800 for each monster on the field with it's name!" (ATK: 1200-3600) "Now they're gonna go to use! Destroy his Captain!" The soldier growled before he swung his blade towards the raccoon, who was looking wide-eyed before he was destroyed; the impact forcing Ragnar to cover his face from the dust.

Snotlout: 2500

Ragnar: 1600

"Oh, this doesn't look good," said Fishlegs.

"Don't worry, he's only getting started," said Hiccup.

"You certainly have confidence in someone who is facing down a monster with 3600 attack points," said Heather.

Snotlout just smirked as Ragnar drew his card. He relished in the fact that he had taken control of this duel now. He preferred to duel against the peg leg, but taking out his best friend was just as good.

"Okay, I think I'll start things off by playing my King's Knight in attack mode," said Ragnar and a worrying golden armour appeared alongside his Queen's Knight. (ATK: 1600. DEF: 1400)

Snotlout stared in horror. "Wait, you've both got Queen and King's Knight out!"

"Yes and judging by your tone you know when I have both these nights on the field I can so not Jack's Knight for my deck to join them." Ragnar then summoned another knight in blue armour standing between his two other knights. (ATK: 1900. DEF: 1000)

"Not a bad combo," said Heather.

"But his three knight are still weaker than Snotlout's solider," Fishlegs' pointed out.

"I'll have my both my Jack and Queen's Knights at your Soldiers," said Ragnar.

His two knights slashed there sword at Snotlout's soldiers and they exploded along with the Call of the Haunted card behind one of them.

Snotlout: 1500

Ragnar: 1600

Snotlout smirked when two swords flew from the dust cloud the knights made, which sliced through Ragnar; the mute boy falling to the ground in pain.

Snotlout: 1500

Ragnar: 600

"When my soldiers are destroyed, you take the same amount of damage that I do, slacker!" Snotlout smirked.

"Why did he attack now Snotlout's remaining soldier can wipe him out," said Fishlegs.

Suddenly Snotlout's remaining soldier began to shrink. (ATK: 3600-2000)

"What happened?" Snotlout exclaimed.

"Very clever," said Heather and she looked at Hiccup. "I see you want exaggerating."

"Would someone care to explain," said Fishlegs.

"You see Snotlout's soldier had 3600 attack points and Ragnar would have to summon a pretty powerful monster to beat it, but he found another way," Hiccup explained.

Fishlegs' eyes widened. "Oh, so he took those other two soldiers down just a week in the big one."

"It may have cost them a few points, but it was well worth it," said Astrid.

"I think only one card face down and end my turn there," said Ragnar.

"About time," Snotlout growled drew his card. "I pay 800 light points to activate my Premature Burial to revive my Soldier."

Snotlout: 700

Ragnar: 600

The armour wearing soldier reappeared. "And since my soldiers back on the field my other one we gain some attack points." They stared at his remaining soldier increased in size again. (ATK 2000-2800). "Now I have attack you."

"This isn't good," said Fishlegs.

"If this make contact it's all over," said Heather.

Ragnar impress one of his buttons on his duel disk revealing his face down card. "I activate my Negate Attack trap card." Snotlout's solider slammed it sawed down upon his knights some sort of invisible force absorb attack. "Thanks to this trap card in negate your attack and ends your battle phase."

Snotlout growled. "One turn that all you got."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Ragnar as he drew his card.

Astrid suddenly turned her head to the entrance, a worried expression starting to make its way on her face. "Guys! We got company! Campus Security! If we get caught here, we're all get seriously busted." As soon as the words left her mouth, all eyes snapped over to her.

"What!" Syrus yelped as his eyes widened behind his glasses.

"Why? I mean we're all students here." Hiccup asked confused, as was Ragnar as he looked down to the group of students behind him.

Heather crossed her arms and glared over at Snotlout, "Did Mr. Full of himself over there happen to tell you that there is no off-hour arena duelling?" Snotlout's face turned red at being called out.

"Why doesn't that surprise me," said Ragnar.

"So, not only was he trying to get Ragnar's best card but he was trying to get the rest of us in trouble," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, that's pretty low even for you Snotlout," said Astrid.

Ragnar stepped down from the arena as Snotlout did. The Obelisk boy sneered at him. "I saw what I needed to see. You're a sorry duellist and if you have half the skills as Useless over there then him beating my dad was a fluke…" Ragnar glared as Snotlout looked to Hiccup. "I'll duel you too soon, Slacker." And with those his parting words as he and his lackeys left the arena.

"Can we get out of here now?" Fishlegs asked. No one objected him.

* * *

After briefly acting as ninja, the group of five managed to get out of the main building. Astrid looked to Hiccup as he, Fishlegs and Ragnar followed after her and Heather. Ragnar was still looking at his hand from the last turn of his duel with Snotlout.

Hiccup smiled appreciatively to the female Obelisk, "Thanks a bunch for showing us the back way out. Probably wouldn't have made it without you."

Astrid smiled back, "No problem," she cast an eye to Ragnar. "I'm sorry your friend didn't get a chance to finish his duel with Snotlout."

Ragnar shrugged. "It's cool. I know exactly how it would've ended anyway…" he grinned.

"Really?" Heather stepped forward. "No offence, but from my point of view it looked like it could've gone either way between you and Snotlout when you guys stopped."

Ragnar just smiled. "Not after I drew this." He then showed them the card he just drew and they gasped. It was Gilford the Lightning.

Hiccup just shook his head. "All you have to do was just summon it sacrificing your three knights and you would have destroyed all of Snotlout's monsters. And then all you have to do was wage a direct attack."

"So Ragnar won…" Fishlegs whispered in awe. A Slifer would've taken down an Obelisk if he had another minute to play.

Hiccup then looked at his watch. "We'd better get going before Gobber finds out were not in bed." He turned to the two girls. "See ya."

"See you around," said Ragnar waving them goodbye as he, Hiccup, and Fishlegs started running back to the dorm.

The two girls watched them walk, turning to one another shortly after and smiled. "Those two are certainly going to make this year quite interesting."


	3. A Duel in Love

The next morning after Ragnar's duel against Snotlout, the new students of Duel Academy were sitting in their first class for the day with, sadly, Spitelout was their teacher for the first hour of the day. Hiccup was doing their best to ignore the glares that the teacher had sent him when he walked into the room, as he took notes down.

Clearly he was still sore about his victory over him. Any other rational person would accept the lost and move on with their lives, but not Spitlout apparently. He looked to be devious and plotting something if the dangerous gleam in his eyes was anything to go by. Fortunately, Hiccup had dealt with this sort of thing before.

Astrid, who the first year blonde girl that had quickly gained a fan club of boys and the title 'Queen of Obelisk Blue', much to her dismay and annoyance undoubtedly started by Snotlout. Was giving description on different card types.

"Duel Monsters cards can be grouped into Normal Monster cards, Effect Monster cards, Ritual Monster cards, Fusion Monster cards, Trap cards, and Spell cards. Trap cards can be grouped into Normal Traps, Continuous Traps, and Counter Traps. Spell cards can be grouped into Normal Spells, Quick-Play Spells, Field Spells, Continuous Spells, Equip Spells and Ritual Spells." She addressed to the entire class with confidence.

Crowler clapped happily after she was done. "Perfect! Well done Astrid! Of course I expect nothing less from one of my top Obelisks!" he added snobbishly at the end there.

"Yes, Dr. Spitelout." Alexis sat back down in her seat, sharing a nod with Heather as she sat back down.

"Now then, who shall we question next?" Spitelout scanned his eyes across the room again, but this time he zoned in on Fishlehs like a predator to its prey. "You… Fishlegs Ingerman!" Surprised at being addressed, Fishlegs practically shot up. "Explained to the class what a Field Spell is?"

Fishlegs nerves got the better of him as his legs rattled. "Hmm, a Field Spell is—is a—a thing that affects the thing that is uh—"

"Even pre duellers know the answer to this use look Slifer Slime!" Dogsbreath yelled making most the other Obelisks Blues laugh much to Fishlegs' dismay.

"No I know it's a—"

"Relax, Fishlegs you've got this," said Hiccup.

Spitelout crossed his arms. "I think not. Sit down." Once Fishlegs sat down Spitelout looks to the class. "Now would someone please give me the answer? Preferably someone not wearing red, thank you."

Obelisks Blues laughed again.

"I blew it," Fishlegs moaned as he shrank down into his seat. "I've made all the Slifers look bad."

Hiccup then stood up. "A Field Spell is able to change the entire state of play for both the players. It is placed in the Field Card Zone and only one field spell can be active at a time." Hiccup notice a lot of people are looking straight at including Spitelout. "And for the record Sir you shouldn't really make fun of us Slifers like that." Spitelout raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I mean I'm a Slifer and I beat you. So when you make fun of us you're really making fun of yourself."

This time it was the Slifer's turn to laugh and Spitelout looked as if he was tearing his hair out.

He couldn't see Alexis staring at him interestingly, her eyes focused on the back of his head as her lips were upturned into a small smile.

Spitelout felt like breaking something for example Hiccup's other leg. 'That is it! I will not have that slacker at my school for a moment longer!' he fumed. _'_ _I will see to it that they are expelled immediately!_ '

* * *

After scraping through Spitelout's class, their next teacher they had was Professor Banner; the Academies history teacher, who didn't look like he would cause any trouble. He was a tall black haired man wearing a freshly pressed suit and was stroking a cat in his hands.

"My name is Professor Angar Banner I specialise in most of the lesser-known tactics and strategies in the world of Duel Monsters. Some of you might even consider to be unnatural."

While the Professor was talking Fishlegs leaned over to Hiccup. "By the way thanks Hiccup."

"Sure no problem I'm quite used to bullies," said Hiccup.

"Regardless, thank you."

Fishlegs gasped loudly at the revelation, which gained him the attention of the entire class. Banner looked over to the stunned Slifer.

Ragnar noticed this. "I have a feeling you have to do it again," he said to Hiccup.

"Fishlegs?" Angar asked.

Fishlegs stood up from his seat in a panic at being addressed by the teacher. "Uh, yes?" he asked, waiting for Angar to chew him out for causing a disturbance in the classroom.

"Do me a favour and pick up Pharaoh will you?"

"Uh, Pharaoh?" Fishlegs questioned, being slightly confused that Agnar wasn't gonna talk him down for making a disturbance in class.

"Unless you're thinking about minoring as a scratching post." Agnar joked.

Fishlegs was confused until he felt something brush up against his leg. It was the fat tabby cat. Once again, a chorus of laughter was had an even Hiccup joined in. This was a kind of laughter that Fishlegs didn't mind.

* * *

In Spitelout's office, he was writing a letter down with a white feather pen, a second one all folded and ready to go. "How dare that Slifer slacker Hiccup make a mockery of me in front of my whole class like that." He grumbled as he folded up the letter and placed inside an envelope. "It'll be the last mistake he'll ever make at this Academy." He then grabbed a stamp with a lip imprint on it and stamped the back of the letters and chuckled to himself. "The big kiss-off!"

He laughed to himself for a few more seconds before he headed for the boys locker room, knowing that Hiccup was at the gym at this time. Searching through the lockers, he found Hiccup's boot and prosthetic leg. He grinned manically before he placed the letter in the locker.

* * *

A few seconds later Hiccup arrived and made his way over to his locker. He had been excused from taking gym so he can put on his spare prosthetic leg. His curiosity hitting his peek, when he reached his locker he found an envelope and picked it up wondering what it could be. He opened his and began to read it.

 _I've been in love with you since the moment I first saw you. Meet me at the Obelisk Girl's Dorm tonight so I can give you a sweet kiss._

 _Lovingly, Astrid Hofferson_

Hiccup just stared at the letter. "Someone must think I was born yesterday?"

Hiccup knew that this was a forgery, because Astrid didn't look like the type of girl to send love letters. The girl looked as if she would break your arm if you try to woo her the wrong way. Crumbling the letter into pieces, he threw it over his shoulder and then placed on his switched his prosthetic leg with the other one in his locker and left.

He left the locker room, but failed to notice Fishlegs entering from the opposite of the locker room.

"Lousy girl's gym." He grumbled as he sprinted over to his locker, "Why can't they make the signs bigger." He then noticed the crumpled letter on the ground. "What's this?"

* * *

Later that night after a shower Hiccup ended back into the dorm room.

"Hey, Legs the outhouses all yours," said Hiccup, but he only found Ragnar there. "Hey, where's Legs?"

"Don't know," Ragnar shrugged. "He just left and he was in a real good mood to."

"A good mood?" Hiccup asked blankly. "That really doesn't sound like Fishlegs."

* * *

Unknown to Hiccup, Fishlegs had read Spitelout's letter thinking it was for him. He was now rowing a boat over to the girls' dorm, grinning like a fool as he thought about what was gonna happen between him and Astrid. He didn't know that in the bushes by the dorm, Spitelout was waiting for Hiccup to arrive due to the letter he planted.

' _This will be perfect, thanks to those phony love letter I wrote!_ ' Spitelout thought, going over the plan in his mind. ' _I'll just wait here for Hiccup to come around search for Astrid. And when the time's right, I'll snap a picture of him, creating evidence that will get him expelled!_ '

While Spitelout was outside waiting for the Hiccup to arrive, inside of the dorm, Astrid and Heather, along with their friend Ruffnut, were enjoying the hot spring that was available to them.

"Can you believe what that Hiccup said to Dr. Spitelout in class today? He's got some nerve to talk to a teacher like that, completely disrespectful," said Ruffnut. "Don't you think Astrid?"

"Actually, I thought it was kind cool," Astrid shrugged.

Ruffnut stared at her bewildered. "Him? Cool?"

"He did defeat Spitelout," Heather pointed out.

"All we know it could be dumb luck," said Ruffnut.

"True, I guess we won't know until I get the chance to duel him myself."

* * *

Meanwhile outside Fishlegs waltzed into the designated spot where he was about to 'meet' Astrid. Back on the outside, Spitelout was outraged seeing Fishlegs and not Hiccup.

"That's not Hiccup! That's that stammering Field Spell nitwit!" his yelling at his failure brought attention to everyone in mile radius.

"It's a boy!"

"I'm not a boy, I'm a man!" Spitelout corrected as he wobbled over to the water, slipping and falling into the lake that Fishlegs arrived from. As he fell, he missed Fishlegs being ambushed by the girls of the dorm; knowing that he was in some kind of trouble.

"A love letter from Alexis?" Heather asked after hearing Fishlegs' explanation as to why he was here. Astrid and Ruffnut were standing with her; the blonde girl knowing something was up. "You've got to be kidding!"

"Just ask her, it's true!" Fishlegs replied, winking at Astrid, causing her to mentally roll her eyes. Fishlegs seemed like a cool guy, but she didn't send him a love letter. She wasn't that kind of person. Someone had to have played a joke on Fishlegs. It was all she could think of as to why a letter by her would be given to him.

"Uh, hello…" Ruffnut retorted. "Alexis is really tall and you're really large and fat, she's skilled at duelling and you aren't, and she's really hot and—"

"First off I'm husky. Second But it's true!" Fishlegs protested, pulling out the letter. "Just read it!" Astrid took the note as she and the other girls looked over it.

"Fishlegs, my name's not even spelled right," she said. Her suspicions were confirmed. Someone played a mean joke on the short Slifer.

"So you don't love me?" He asked. The girls groaned at his persistence.

"Hey, hold on!" Ruffnut interrupted, looking over the front of the envelope. "This note's addressed to Hiccup Haddock!" And for emphasis, she pointed it out to the husky boy, disappointing him more than he already was.

"Aw, I can't even get a fake love letter?" The young Slifer complained, although he knew he should've seen this coming due to his track record of bad luck.

"Sorry, Fishlegs." Alexis apologized. "Guess we have no reason to keep you here if you were played." She was ready to let him go, knowing he had enough embarrassment and problems for the day and deserved some kind of break.

"Hold on, he could've written the note as an excuse to come here!" Ruffnut wasn't ready to let this go in the slightest.

Heather frowned, "He was tricked. It's not his fault."

"Girls, just what is going on down there?" said a robotic voice. The girls looked up in the balcony seeing Miss Gothi looking over the balcony. Gothi was the Academy's nurse and she was mute fortunately she had an electronic voice box that talked for her. Quickly Heather and Ruffnut hid Fishlegs, so she wouldn't see him as well. "Alright, what's going on?"

"Sorry about the noise, Miss Gothi," said Astrid to the Obelisk Headmistress.

"We'll be sure to keep the noise down," Heather promised.

"Well I hope so, it's nearly Midnight!" said Gothi as she headed back to her room. As soon as they were sure that their headmistress was sound asleep, they got Fishlegs out of hiding.

"So, what now?" Ruffnut asked.

"I'll tell you what now, girls…" said Astrid, putting a smirk and have a new at once knew what she was planning. "We'll use Fishlegs as bait, to get Hiccup over here."

"What for?" Ruffnut asked.

"Remember what we were discussing earlier?" Astrid asked. "We're gonna find out how good Hiccup really is…"

* * *

Back in the Slifer Dorm, Hiccup and Ragnar were participating in one of their past-times besides duelling… playing a hand-held fighting game against one another.

However they had put their game on hold when Hiccup's Duel Pilot beeped. He saw it was a video message like the one Ragnar got from Snotlout the other night. "Hmmm…" he mumbled as he played it, Ragnar hovering over him as an ominous voice played.

"We have your roommate Fishlegs hostage! If you want him back, come to the Girls' Dorm." The message ended, making Hiccup's eyes widen.

"What's the matter?" Ragnar asked.

"Earlier today I received a fake love letter from Astrid. Fishlegs must have found for it was for him," said Hiccup.

Ragnar rubbed his head. "Never a dull moment around this places it?"

"I'd better get going," said Hiccup.

"You need to come along?" Ragnar asked.

"Now the only asked for me, besides this is kind of my fault I should have from that thing in the bin."

* * *

Hiccup arrived to the Girls' Dorm a couple minutes later, seeing Astrid, Heather, one of their friends, and a gloomy Fishlegs waiting for him.

"Hi, Hiccup…" Fishlegs greeted, sounding as glumly as he looked.

"Hey, so what's going on here?" Hiccup asked as he climbed out of the boat he used to row over here.

"Well, to make the long story short, I'm a complete loser," Fishlegs replied.

Hiccup look to the girls. "Care to elaborate?"

"Your friend here trespassed into the girls' campus," Ruffnut explained.

"I told you," Fishlegs interjected. "It wasn't like that!"

"Now that you two are here, you're trespassing, too!" Heather added, ignoring Fishlegs' comment.

"That's right, so if you don't want us to turn you in, you'll going have to win your freedom by beating me in a duel right now!" Astrid challenged.

"We'll be expelled if you turn us in!" Fishlegs cried.

"Looks like you don't leave me any choice," said Hiccup. He then looked at Fishlegs. "Don't worry Legs, I'll get out of this."

* * *

A minute later there were all in the middle of the lake Hiccup and Fishlegs on one boat with Astrid and her friends on the other.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

Spitelout resurfaced to see the duel. "Well, well, well a Slifer versus an Obelisks. Put him in his places, Astrid!" he cheered.

"Ready?" said Astrid.

"More than ready," said Hiccup.

"Let's duel!"

Hiccup: 4000

Astrid: 4000

"All right," said Astrid as she drew her first card. She looked through her hand before she selected a card. "I summon Valkyrie Recruit in attack mode!" A small red-headed Valkyrie in bright white armour appeared on her side of the field. (ATK: 900. DEF: 1200) "I then set one card facedown to end my turn." A facedown appeared by Astrid.

"Guess it's my turn," said Hiccup as he drew his card. "First, I'll summon my Dragon knight Hookfang in attack mode." Flames and shot out from the water and a muscular warrior in red and black dragon-like armour appeared with a mace in his hand. (ATK: 1600. DEF: 1000)

"And now I have him attack your Recruit with Blazing Mace. Oh, and when Hookfang attacks a monster he gained 400 extra attack points." They watched as flames covered Hookfang as he charges. (ATK: 1600-2000)

"I don't think so!" Astrid started as she revealed her facedown. "I activate the trap card Doble Passé!" Hookfang suddenly changed course and headed for Astrid, hitting her duel disk with his mace.

Hiccup was very surprised. "Doble Passé changes your attack to a direct attack on me and because of this your monster loses a few attack points! And then the monster that you attacked can attack you directly." Valkyrie Recruit started sprinting towards Hiccup. "Oh and when Valkyrie Recruit attacks, her attack points are doubled." (ATK: 900-1800) Hiccup was punched in the chest, kneeling down to one knee after the impact.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs called in concern as his friend grabbed his chest.

Hiccup: 2200

Astrid: 2400

"That Astrid is really something else," Hiccup murmured. "Sacrificing her own life points just so she can get to mine." He stood back up.

"You boys impressed?" Astrid asked.

"Impressed? I think I'm in love." He joked.

"You're sweet. Too bad we have to crush you."

"You can try," said Hiccup as he placed a facedown card. "But you won't succeed."

"We'll see about that," said Astrid as he drew her card.

She smiled when she saw it was a good one. "I play Valkyrie Swordswoman." The watched as blonde Valkyrie appeared alongside her Recruit. (ATK: 1600. DEF 1500)

"And I activate the spell card Polymerization to fuse by Recruit and Swordswoman together to summon Valkyrie Swordmaster!"

They watched as her two monsters started combining together to make another warrior with golden blonde hair and glittering silver armour with feathers sticking out in places. In her hands she held two blades. (ATK: 2200. DEF: 1200)

"Now Swordmaster attacks Hookfang with Twin Sliver Sword Slash!"

They watched as Swordmaster charged straight towards Hookfang at a very high speed.

"I will build my trap card Dragon Defender!" Hiccup yelled. His facedown revealed itself and show the imagery dragon being attacked by Blade Knight. "This card is able to prevent the Dragon type monster from being destroyed in battle."

"But you don't have any," said Astrid.

"That's where your long by Dragon Knight Cards are considered dragons on the field or in my graveyard."

Astrid gasped and Hookfang raised his mace blocking the blow of Astrid's Swordmaster.

Astrid looked slightly impressed. "You might have saved your monster, but the same can't be said for your life points."

Hiccup was then hit by the shockwave of Astrid's Swordmaster.

Hiccup: 1600

Astrid: 2400

"Not a bad move there," said Astrid smiling.

"Same to you, but don't think I'm going to go easy on you because you're a girl."

"I will forgive you if you did."

Ruffnut just blinked. It almost sounded as if they were flirting with one another, but what caught our eye was the sudden personality change of Hiccup. It was almost as if he was a different person.

"Now it's my turn," said Hiccup. He looked at his card and smiled. "Just what I needed. Okay since you have a monster out, I can summon this guy with only one sacrifice. So I trade my Hookfang for my Dragon Knight Toothless." He then replaced the cards and Toothless appeared in front of him. "He'll now attack your Swordmaster."

Toothless then charged at Swordmaster, but Astrid wasn't worried. 'Someone didn't do their homework.'

Toothless straight towards Swordmaster and she did the same. When their attacks collided a shockwave hit Astrid.

Hiccup: 1600

Astrid: 2100

However, when the smoke cleared Swordsmaster was still standing.

"What? How did she survive Toothless' attack?" Hiccup gasped.

"Simple," said Astrid. "My Swordsmaster's special ability is that she can't be destroyed in battle so long as she's in attack mode."

"Great," Hiccup moaned. "I suppose you got me."

"Oh, when I get you Hiccup believe me you know it," said Astrid as she drew her next card. She looked at it and smiled. "Like right now for example. I equip my spell Fusion Weapon to my Swordsmaster."

They watched as Swordsmaster's arm became robotic that resembled a Trident. (ATK: 2200-3700. DEF: 1200-2700)

"Uh-oh, I think you might want to brace yourself for this one Fishlegs," said Hiccup.

"Go Swordsmaster, attack Toothless with Trident Shot!" Astrid yelled.

Then Swordsmaster fired a powerful bolt of green lightning straight at Toothless. The moment it made contact Toothless exploded and Hiccup braced himself for the impact.

Hiccup: 400

Astrid: 2100

"Uh-oh, your life points are looking pretty low," said Astrid crossing her arms. "Hope you didn't you didn't unpack your bags here yet."

"Yeah, you got him now," said Ruffnut smugly. "I knew him defeating Dr. Spitelout was just luck."

"We are in trouble," said Fishlegs.

"Don't worry, were not going to get expelled, promise," said Hiccup.

' _Hmm, you should make promises you can't deliver_ ,' Astrid thought.

' _I_ _hope I'm not making a promise I can't deliver_ ,' Hiccup thought. He looked at his hand all we had were three spell cards and his Meatlug. ' _None of the spell can't have the power to take down Swordsmaster. It all depends what I draw right here right now_.'

"Here goes," said Hiccup as he drew his next card. He looked at it and it was just the card he needed. "Perfect."

Astrid looked up and wondered what card he drew.

"First I'll play my Monster Reborn spell card and I'll bring back my Hookfang from the Graveyard," said Hiccup. They watched as Hookfang re-materialised on Hiccup's field.

"What difference will he make?" Astrid asked puzzled. "My Swordsmaster has way more attack points than him. Your Hookfang won't stand a chance."

"He won't, but he won't be sticking around for long because I'm going to sacrifice in order summon my Dragon Knight Stormfly."

A powerful gust of wind covered Hookfang and once it dispelled he was replaced by a beautiful female warrior in blue and yellow dragon-like armour. Her visor covered her eyes, but long blonde hair was cascading down her back and shoulders. The waist guard leaves the front of her body exposed and her leg guards only reached just above the knee. (ATK: 2000. DEF: 1900)

"Wow, she's pretty," said Fishlegs dreamily.

"Nice monster, but I hate to break it to you but my Swordsmaster attack points are still higher at 3700."

"Yeah, I know," said Hiccup he then grabbed two cards in his hand. "But I haven't exactly finish my move yet, because first I'll play my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Fusion Weapon." Astrid gasp is a powerful tornado appeared on the field destroying her Swordsmater's weapon. "And next equip Stormfly with my Dragon Knight Battle Axe. This card increases the attack points of a level 6 or above Dragon Knight Monster." They watched as a battle axe appeared in Stormfly's hands. (ATK 2000-2800) "Now I'll have her attack your Swordsmaster with Raging Dragon Slash."

Astrid watched as Stormfly charge straight towards her slashing her acts against her Swordsmaster. Her monster survived the battle, but she still took damage from the difference in their attack points.

Hiccup: 400

Astrid: 1500

"Not a bad move, but did you forget my Swordsmaster can't be destroyed in battle," said Astrid.

"I know," Hiccup nodded. "But my girl has her own special ability. You see she is able to attack every single one of your monsters in a single turn."

Astrid's eyes widened. "Wait, but then that means that—"

"You lose."

Astrid watched in horror as Stormfly kept on attacking Swordsmaster. Her monster may survive the battle, but her life points won't and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Hiccup: 400 (Winner)

Astrid: 0

"Astrid!" Ruffnut gasped.

"I guess it wasn't luck," said Heather.

"Yeah!" Fishlegs hugged Hiccup from behind, thrilled at the victory.

"That's game m'lady," said Hiccup.

Spitelout, who watched the entire duel, growled. "Lucky brat, he escaped this time, but I'll still find a way to expelled him…" He sunk into the ocean. "After I find a way home."

* * *

Hiccup met with Astrid in the middle of the battleground of their duel. "Well, a deal is a deal. I won, so we get off free." Hiccup reminded.

"Okay guys I won't back out, we'll keep quiet about this." Astrid assured.

"If you ask me, we should turn all of them in anyway," said Ruffnut said.

"Well nobody asked you," Astrid snapped and turned back to the boys. "Hiccup won fair and square and I am a woman of my word."

"To be honest it was a very close duel," said Hiccup. Then he paused, "You know… you're a real strong player, Astrid."

"You… think so?" Astrid asked surprised at the compliment.

"That's right and if there's one thing I like more than anything else, it's duelling strong players." Hiccup replied. "Well, see you around." And with that, Hiccup and Fishlegs rowed away from the dorm.

' _Even if we did win, there's no way I could turn them in,'_ Astrid thought, a smile crossing her face as she stared at Hiccup's retreating form _. 'This school is a lot more interesting… and fun… with them than without_.'

 _'_ _I've never seen Astrid act this way before_ ,' Ruffnut thought. ' _I wonder… is she actually falling for that Slifer_?'

* * *

Dragon Knight Hookfang/ ATK: 1600/ DEF 1000/ Warrior/ FIRE/ 4 Stars/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. If this card attacked an opponent's monster it gains 400 attack points during the Damage Step only

Dragon Knight Stormfly/ ATK: 2000/ DEF 1900/ Warrior/ WIND/ 6 Stars/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. This can attack every monster your opponent controls.

Dragon Knight Axe

Equip Spell

This car can only be equipped onto a level 6 or higher Dragon Knight Monster. The equipped monster gains 800 Attack Points.

Card Image: Astrid's axe

Dragon Defender

Trap Card

Activate only if you opponent attacks a Dragon-type monster on your side of the field. For this turn only all Dragon-type monsters you control cannot be destroyed in battle.

Card Image: Blade Knight attacking a dragon.

Valkyrie Recruit/ ATK: 900/ DEF: 1200/ Warrior/ LIGHT/ 3 Stars/ Effect

If this attacks your opponent directly it points are doubled during the Damage Step.

Valkyrie Swordswoman/ ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1500/ Warrior/ LIGHT/ 4 Stars/ Effect

If this card attacked the Defence Position monster, inflict piercing damage to your opponent.

Valkyrie Swordmaster/ ATK: 2200/ DEF: 1200/ Warrior/ LIGHT/ 6 Stars/ Fusion/ Effect

This car cannot be destroyed in battle so long as it is in attack position. Your opponent can only select this card as a attack target.


	4. The Masked Avenger

It was the middle of the night on Obelisk blue student was just knocked off his feet. He just lost a duel against the masked woman.

"Maybe next time they'll teach you not to pick on someone weaker than you," she said as she walked off.

The Obelisk student just stared as she disappeared into the thickness of the trees. He just lost to the Masked Avenger.

The Masked Avenger was on the lips of everyone in the Academy the next day.

"I hear that she duels with such velocity," said a Ra yellow.

"Well, I've heard that she only do was against those who pick on other duellists no matter which dorm their form, except for the Slifers Reds," said another Ra yellow.

"She probably thinks their waste of time," said an Obelisk blue.

* * *

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs walked past the students there were discussing about this masked vigilante.

"People assure talking about the Masked Avenger a lot these days," said Fishlegs.

"Can you blame them, ever since she shown up half the Obelisk students are afraid to go outside during the night," said Hiccup.

"Sounds like someone I want to meet," said Ragnar.

"Good luck with that, the way I've heard it is that she finds you not the other way around," said Hiccup. "Besides, it sounds like that she's mostly challenging bullies. You really want to stop her from doing that."

"While I don't mind her taking down these bullies it only gonna cause more problems," said Ragnar. "You remember all those boys in our neighbourhood that kept on picking on you."

"Yes, I was trying to forget that," said Hiccup dully.

"Sorry… but you get what I'm saying. They only backed off when you pushed back if you have someone standing against bullies for you then it's only gonna make things worse."

"Talking about the Mask Avenger, boys?" said a voice. They turned and found Astrid standing behind them and behind her was Heather. "She certainly been an interesting topic these days."

"Don't suppose you guys know anything about her?" Ragnar asked.

"Only the rumours we've been hearing," said Heather.

"Well, I hope she stops soon," said Ragnar.

Heather blinked. "I—I'm surprised to hear you say that."

"Just like told Hiccup the only way to stop a bully is to stand up to them and show them that you were not going to be picked by them. Otherwise just keep on coming back and having someone protect them is only gonna make it worse."

"I can see your point," said Astrid.

They were so busy talking that they didn't notice that Heather had left, all except for Ragnar. This confused him, because he would have for that she of all people would want to be in on this sort of discussion.

"Where's Heather?" Ragnar asked.

Astrid looked up and saw that her friend was gone. "I don't know."

"He did seem a bit uptight about this bullying that's going on," said Hiccup.

"Not surprising," said Astrid. She then saw the three blank looks on the boys. "You see her older brother, Dagur was the school bully and most of the kids took everything out on her. It wasn't long until the teachers called her parents informing them of Dagur's behaviour, but even as he got expelled the children to me look at the same way. No doubt they fear that she would be just like a brother."

"That's ridiculous," said Ragnar.

Astrid nodded. "I know, but ever since then she really hate bullies."

* * *

About midday they were wandering through the campus. Ragnar couldn't shake the feeling on this Masked Avenger, but his main concerns were upon Heather he could understand why she hate bullies.

Suddenly they heard yells and turned to see an Obelisk picking on a Slifer.

"Now give me that card," said the Obelisk.

"No, it's mine my dad gave it to me," said the Slifer.

"It will be in far better hands if I have it," said the Obelisk.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ragnar yelled as the three of them rushed over towards them.

"Stay out of this Slifer Slime," the Obelisk sneered. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Become a member of our dorm is our business," said Hiccup. "Especially if you're stealing from them."

The Obelisk shrugged. "It's not like that card can be any good in his deck anyway."

"I'd leave if I were you," said a voice. They turned and found Heather walking towards them scowling.

The Obelisk saw that he was outnumbered. "Fine, but this is and over."

They watched him as he walked away. Ragnar then turned his sights on the Slifer. "You're all right?" he asked helping them up.

"Yeah, thanks for the help," said the Slifer.

"You should report this," said Hiccup.

"So he would come and pick on me again I don't think so," said Slifer and he walked away.

"It makes me sick how people pick on the weak," said Heather.

Ragnar nodded. "I know, but there's not a lot we can do." He can't help but notice the scow that Heather had on her face as she looked at the Obelisk. "What will you doing here?"

"Oh, just wandering around and then I noticed this little incident. I imagine that's how you guys got caught into this."

"Pretty much," said Hiccup.

"Guys, you think we should tell Gobber about this?" Fishlegs asked.

"I'm afraid that's up to our friend. If we tell on that Obelisk he might just come back and pick on the poor guy and we will be here to save him. He needs to stand up for himself if he wants to stop this bullying."

"So you suggest we do nothing," said Heather crossing her arms.

"I didn't say that, but there's not a lot we can do."

"Sounds like giving up to me."

Heather then walked off in a huff and Ragnar's really wished that conversation could have gone a lot better. He could tell she was a nice girl, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something.

"What was that about?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know," said Ragnar. "Though I may have an idea."

Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at one another and shrugged. Neither of them knew what was talking about.

* * *

Later that night the three of them were in their dorm room. Hiccup was looking through his deck no doubt get better acquainted with his cards and Ragnar and Fishlegs were duelling.

Ragnar noticed that Fishlegs' was using a Vehicroid deck, but he seemed to like confidence.

"You really have a confidence problem don't you," said Ragnar.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," said Fishlegs.

"You're showing off all your moves and not to mention you forgetting to use your monster's abilities."

"It's a wonder that I managed to pass the practical examination."

"Listen, all you have to do is just be confident and keep telling yourself you can do it," Ragnar advised.

Before Ragnar can continue on his confident session with Fishlegs the door open and the Slifer they met earlier today stood there.

"Hey you're the guy we met earlier today," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, the names Sigurd and I've got a major favour to ask you."

"What favour?" Ragnar asked getting to his feet.

"You remember that Obelisk you die save me from well he's text me and send to meet in the forest and while I was hoping that you would—"

"Come with you?" Ragnar guessed raising an eyebrow.

"Well… yes."

Ragnar placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. "Fine, but only this once. You really need to stand up for yourself if you want to stop him."

"No way," said Sigurd shaking his hands. "I just want him off my back without giving him my card."

Ragnar was about to speak, but Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "How about we discussed about this after we see this Obelisk."

Ragnar nodded and he looked back at Sigurd. "We're not through talking about this."

* * *

Sigurd led them deep into the forest where he was supposed to meet the Obelisk.

"Typical he would choose a place far away from the teachers," said Ragnar.

Then they had a yell not too far away.

"What was that?" Fishlegs asked.

"I don't know, let's find out," said Ragnar running towards the direction of the scream.

"Great, we run towards the screaming jar is perfect," Hiccup moaned, but regardless they followed him.

They ran through the forest until they reached a clearing where they found the Obelisk they met earlier lying on the ground. In front of him was a woman wearing a metal mask making it impossible to identify her. They knew at once that she was the Masked Avenger.

"Leave, now," she demanded.

At once the Obelisk to his feet and ran, he didn't even notice them as he disappeared into the forest.

"What's going on?" Ragnar demanded.

The Masked Avenger turned and looked at them. "This has nothing to do with you," she said.

"I beg to differ," said Ragnar. "Listen I respect that you're trying to help people, but you're only making things worse."

"How am I making things worse?"

"Because I believe in the take everything out on Sigurd and is that what you truly want?"

The Masked Avenger just looked at him. "I'm just helping those who can't fight back is that so wrong?"

"Not really, but you're going all about this the wrong way. You need help those being bullied to stand up for themselves a voice to always be walked over and you will always be here to help."

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Is he always like this?"

Hiccup shrugged. "What can I say he takes bullying quite seriously?"

"But why is he trying to stop?" Sigurd asked.

Hiccup looked at them. "Because while he hates bullies he knows the only way to stop them is to stand up to them to show them that you're not going to be pushed around. It's all matter of confidence."

Ragnar then pulled out his duel disk. "I have a proposition for ya. We're going to have a duel and if I win you'll stop what you're doing and listen to reason."

"And if I win you'll leave me alone and I can continue on my mission," said the Masked Avenger.

"Deal," Ragnar agreed.

"Let's duel!"

Ragnar: 4000

Masked Avenger: 4000

"I'll start things off," said Ragnar as he drew his card. "I'll start things off by playing Familiar Knight in defence mode." Then a knight in silver armour appeared in front of Ragnar. (ATK: 1200. DEF: 1400) "And they'll do it for me."

"Then it's my go," said the Masked Avenger as she drew her card. "And I'll play my Mechanicalchaser in attack mode!" Then a robot with assortment of weapons appeared. (ATK: 1850. DEF: 800). "And have him attack your knight."

Mechanicalchaser then flew in and Familiar Knight tearing him to pieces.

"By destroying my knight you've activated his special ability. Now we both can summon a level 4 or below monster from our hands and I think I'll go with Command Knight in defence mode," said Ragnar as a female knight in red armour appeared in front of him. (ATK: 1200. DEF: 1900). "And she has an ability of our own that increases the attack points of all my warrior types by 400." (ATK: 1200-1600)

"Then I'll play my Green Gadget in attack mode," said the Masked Avenger as a green robot with gears appeared in front of her. (ATK: 1400. DEF: 600). "And when he summoned to the field I can take Red Gadget from my deck and placed it in my hand. And I'll end my turn with two facedown cards." Two facedown cards then appeared in front of her.

"Now it's my turn," said Ragnar as a card. "Now I'll summon my Field-Commander Rahz in attack mode." Then a rugged looking warrior appeared on his field. (ATK: 1600. DEF: 1200) "Don't forget he gets a power boost thanks to Command Knight." (ATK: 1600-2000). "And thanks to a special ability when he summoned I can look for my deck and select a warrior your type monster in place at the top of my deck." Ragnar then began to look through his deck. "And I think I'll choose Gearfried the Iron Knight."

"I hope he knows what he's doing," said Fishlegs.

"Don't worry he's got this in the bag," said Hiccup.

"Now I'll switch my Command Knight into attack mode," said Ragnar as is Knight got to her feet. "Now I'll have Field-Commander attack your Mechanicalchaser." His Field-Commander charge that Mechanicalchaser with his sword held high.

"I don't think so, I activate my Trap Card DNA Surgery," said Masked Avenger revealing one of the facedown cards.

"What?" Ragnar gasped.

"That's not good," said Hiccup his eyes widened. "Thanks to that Trap Card she is able to change the type of every monster on the field to whatever type she wants."

"Your friends quite right and I choose machine type," she said.

Then every single one of Ragnar's monsters began to change into robots.

Fishlegs stared at him. "Wait, but that would mean that—"

"Ragnar's monsters are about to lose some points," Hiccup finished.

Ragnar stared at his two monsters that began to lose their power. (ATK: 2000-1600), (ATK: 1600-1200)

"And since your Field-Commander has lost some power he is now weaker than my monster," said the Masked Avenger.

"I activate my Spell Card Rush Recklessly thanks to this card might Field-Commander gains an additional 700 attack point," said Ragnar pointing out his card from his hand. (ATK: 1600-2300)

Ragnar's Field-Commander then sliced through the Mechanicalchaser and an explosion cover the battlefield.

Ragnar: 4000

Masked Avenger: 3550

"Looks like you were able to save your monster," said the Masked Avenger. "Quite the impressive manoeuvre."

"Yes and springing that trap on me was very skilful," said Ragnar.

Sigurd looked at Hiccup in bewilderment. "Are they… flirting?"

Hiccup scratch the back of his head. "I think that just complementing each other. Though I'm never too sure with Ragnar."

"I guess I'll end my turn with one facedown," said Ragnar as a card appeared in front of him.

"Then it is my turn," said the Masked Avenger as she drew a card. "And now I'll sacrifice my Green Gadget and trade it for my Machine King." Green Gadget disappeared and was replaced by a tall powerful robot. (ATK: 2200. DEF: 2000)

"That's not good," said Hiccup.

"Why not?" Fishlegs asked.

"For someone who uses a machine that you know very little about," said the Masked Avenger. "Machine King gains 100 attack points for each Machine monster on the field and thanks to DNA Surgery of Ragnar's monsters are Machines."

They watched as Machine King gained a boost of power. (ATK: 2200-2500). "Now Machine King attack his Field-Commander with Jet Punch!" They watched as Machine King raised his arm and suddenly his hand flew straight towards Ragnar's Field-Commander.

"Not so fast I activate my Trap Card Sakuretsu Armor!" Ragnar yelled as he revealed his Trap Card. "This card destroys an attacking monster."

"All right, with that hunk of junk away Ragnar can win this on his next turn," Hiccup cheered.

"I wouldn't celebrate too soon, because I got a Trap Card of my own," said the Masked Avenger revealing her Trap Card. "It's Trap Jammer!"

"Uh-oh," said Ragnar.

"Uh-oh is right, because this card cancels out your trap."

Ragnar trap car was then destroyed and Machine King's fist slammed into his Field-Commander was destroying it.

Ragnar: 3100

Masked Avenger: 3550

"Machine King might lose 100 point since there's one less machine on the field, but he still powerful enough to defeat you," said the Masked Commander. (ATK: 2500-2400)

"No wonder the Obelisks are losing to her," said Sigurd.

"Let's not count Ragnar out just yet I'm sure he's got a trick up his sleeve," said Hiccup.

Ragnar then drew his card. ' _Man she is seriously good_ ,' he thought. ' _She was able to counter my Trap Card perfectly. I wonder what she's got up her sleeve_.' He then looked at the card he just drew. "I now play my Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode."

They watched as a warrior completely covered in iron appeared on the field.

"Don't forget your night is now considered a machine which means my machine King gains an extra 100 attack points," the Masked Avenger reminded. (ATK: 2400-2500)

"I know, but it's not gonna change my plans, because now actually the Spell Card Release Restraint," said Ragnar revealing his Spell Card. "Now by sacrificing Gearfried I can summon a much stronger monster. Say hello to Gearfried the Swordmaster!"

They watched as his Iron Knight's armour burst into pieces and a dark-haired warrior replaced where he once stood. (ATK: 2600. DEF: 2200). However he was soon turn into a machine thanks to DNA Surgery.

"Awesome, now he has a months with another attack points to destroy that junk heap," said Fishlegs.

"Gearfried turn Machine King into nothing more than a pile of junk," said Ragnar.

They watched as Gearfried charge straight towards the Machine King and he punched straight through its chest causing a small explosion.

Ragnar: 3100

Masked Avenger: 3450

"Now my Command knight will attack you directly."

Command knight charge straight towards her and slashed her with her sword.

Ragnar: 3100

Masked Avenger: 2250

The attack was powerful enough to remove the mask revealing her identity to everyone. Ragnar was the only one who wasn't surprised to find that it was Heather.

"Heather?" they gasped.

"I thought it was you," said Ragnar.

Heather stared at him. "How do you know it was me?"

"I saw how you hated the bullies picking on the other kids and tonight confirmed it. Sigurd didn't tell anyone which meant you were the only candidate."

Heather smirked. "Well, aren't we the detective. So, what now are you gonna tell the teachers on me or are you going to let me go?"

"Listen Heather I understand that you want to protect the weaker kids, but this isn't the best way to do it. They need to stand up for themselves or otherwise everyone will push them over you got to help them to take a stand."

"That won't stop the bullying."

"No, but at least the weaker kids can prove the not pushovers."

"Trust Ragnar the talk the problem down," said Hiccup. "You know the first time we met was when I was bullied. He kept on telling me that I had to stand up for myself or more and more bullies will come and we became friends ever since then."

"Oh, so that's what I was doing earlier," said Fishlegs remembering the conversation they had in the dorm.

"I hate to say it, but he may have a point," said Sigurd.

Ragnar then looked at Heather. "What is it we complete this conversation after we finish our duel?"

"Sure, but our terms still stand," said Heather as she drew her next card. "Okay, now since I have Machine King in my graveyard I can remove it from the game so I can play Machine Queen."

She removed her Machine King for her Graveyard and then placed a new card duel disk. Out of the ground came a never robot that was a shining year and female version of Machine King. (ATK: 2400. DEF: 2200)

"My Machine Queen gains 100 attack points for every Machine on the field and in our Graveyards," said Heather. (ATK: 2400-2800). "Oh, and if you are planning on using spell Trap Cards on my Machines you're out of luck, because as long as my Queen is out on the field all their effects on the gated."

"Great, that means her Machines monsters are practically invincible," said Hiccup.

"Next ice on my Machine King Prototype," said Heather and an unfinished model of Machine King appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600. DEF: 1500) "He may not look like much, but he gains gave 100 attack points and defence points for each other machine monster on the field."

They watched as her Prototype gained power. (ATK: 1900. DEF: 1800)

"Oh, man she's got an entire army of those things," said Fishlegs.

"Machine Queen destroy his Swordmaster with Royal Electronic Beam!" Heather commanded.

Machine Queen then fired a powerful laser straight towards Ragnar's Swordmaster creation explosion.

Ragnar: 2900

Heather: 2250

"Of course with one less Machine on the field both my monsters lose some attack points," said Heather as her two monsters lost power. (ATK: 2800-2700), (ATK: 1900-1800. DEF: 1800-1700). "But my prototypes are enough power to take along your Command Knight."

They watched as her Prototype slammed one of his mechanical fists into Command Knight destroying her. (ATK: 2700-2600), (ATK: 1800-1700. DEF: 1700-1600)

Ragnar: 2300

Heather: 2250

"Man, I've never seen a duel so close," said Fishlegs.

"I know it is either really having fun out there," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs and Sigurd stared at him then saw he was right both Ragnar and Heather both had smiles on their faces.

"You know, I can't remember when I had such a fun duel," said Ragnar.

"I know what you mean, but I still plan on winning this thing," said Heather.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing too," said Ragnar as he drew his card. "Okay first remove Gearfried the Iron Knight and Field-Commander Rahz from the game. This allows me to summon my Templar Knight to the field."

Then a bright light cover the field and wanted faded they saw a mighty warrior standing fast and strong in shining white armour. Over his chest played there was a Red Cross and in his hand he was holding a mighty long sword. (ATK: 2500. DEF: 1800)

"I guess he looks cool, but he's no match for my Machine Queen and since you played another machine monster my monsters gain a slight power boost," said Heather. (ATK: 2600-2700), (ATK: 1700-1800. DEF: 1600-1700)

"Next I activate Premature Burial, all I have to do is pay 800 life points and I can bring back a monster from my graveyard and I choose my Command Knight," said Ragnar as he played a card in his spell and Trap Card slot.

Ragnar: 1500

Heather: 2250

They watched in puzzlement as he summed back his Command Knight which increase the attack points of Heather's monsters. (ATK: 2700-2800), (ATK: 1800-1900. DEF: 1700-1800)

"I don't get it, why did he revive that monster I mean thanks to DNA Surgery is abilities completely useless?" said Fishlegs

"My Templar and will now attack your Prototype with Holy Sabre!" said Ragnar.

His Templar charge at Heather's Prototype and sliced it in half with his mighty sword.

Ragnar: 1500

Heather: 1650

"And with that I'll end my turn."

' _What's he planning?_ ' Heather thought. ' _I can understand trying to destroy my Prototype, but why would he bring back his Command Knight thanks to my Trap Card's ability is useless and he didn't even lay any facedown cards_.' She looked at her the hand. ' _I could summon another monster to take out his Command Knight after I take down his Templar Knight, maybe that's what he's hoping for. Too dangerous leaving that Knight out on the on the field I have to destroy it_.'

"Okay, my Machine Queen will now attack your Templar Knight with Royal Electronic Beam!" Heather yelled.

Machine Queen then fired her beam straight towards his Templar Knight.

"I activate my Templar Knight's special ability you see when he's been targeted for an attack I'd inactivate a trap or Spell Card from my hand."

"But my Machine Queen's special ability cancels out all spell and Trap Cards targeting Machines," said Heather.

"Now whoever said I was targeting your Machine Queen," Ragnar smirked as he took a card out of his hand. "I activate the Trap Card Royal Decree!"

Heather's eyes widened as he played the Trap Card on the field.

"All right!" Hiccup yelled. "Thanks to that Trap Card all Trap Card effects are negated."

"What good would that do?" Fishlegs asked.

"Because you also neutralise the effect of DNA Surgery meaning that—"

Fishlegs eyes widened. "That Ragnar's monsters are no longer Machines."

They watched as Ragnar's monsters suddenly turned back to flesh and blood. (ATK: 2800-2600)

"And let's not forget that my Command Knight ability now activates mean all my Warriors gain 400 extra attack points," said Ragnar. (ATK: 2500-2900), (ATK:1200-1600). "This means my Knight is now stronger than your Machine Queen."

Templar Knight raised his sword and split the beam coming from Machine Queen.

"Now, counter-attack with Holy Sabre!"

Templar Knight then sent a powerful slash straight towards and she exploded.

Ragnar: 1500

Heather: 1350

Heather looked at her hand, but none of the cards she was holding could save her from Ragnar's next attack. She closed her eyes. "It's your turn now."

Ragnar nodded and drew his next card. "Templar Knight attack ever directly and in this duel."

Heather watched as Templar Knight charged straight towards her and raised his sword. She closed her eyes when he slammed it down on top of her.

Ragnar: 1500

Heather: 0(Winner)

Ragnar then made his way over to Heather. "Good game," he said.

Heather smiled. "Right back at you. All I wanted was to protect people and now I just don't know what to do."

Ragnar then placed a hand on her shoulder. "You can still protect them, but you can do it by helping them prepare for the future. After all you want always be there to protect them and they need to learn to protect themselves."

Heather looked into his eyes and nodded. "I can see what you're getting at, but I don't know how to do it."

"Then let me help you," said Ragnar extending his hand.

Heather looked at him and smiled taking his hand.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup, Ragnar, Fishlegs and Heather watched the Obelisk that picked on Sigurd been taking away by Gobber.

"But I never did anything!" the Obelisk cried.

"I saw what I've heard," said Gobber practically dragging the Obelisk away. "Several of my Slifers have informed me that you've stolen cards from them."

They watched happily as the Obelisk tried to break free from Gobber as they made their way over to the campus. In the distance they saw Sigurd watching from afar and he looked at them before giving them a nod for gratitude.

"See, I told you that all you had to do was convince the Slifer to stand up for themselves," said Ragnar.

"Guess you're right," said Heather and she smiled at them. "Also consider this the last time you see the Masked Avenger, but it won't be the last you see of me."

They watched as Heather walked away smiling at them.

"Well, all ends that's ends well," said Hiccup.

"Not quite," said Ragnar. Hiccup and Fishlegs stared at him. "Don't tell me you've forgotten that we've got exams coming soon."

Fishlegs practically broke down. "I'm so dead."

* * *

Templar Knight

ATK: 2500 DEF: 1800

7 Stars

LIGHT

Warrior/ Effect

You can Special Summon this card by removing from play two Warrior Types from your Graveyard. If this card is selected as an attack target you can activate a Spell or Trap Card from your hand.

Machine Queen

ATK: 2400 DEF: 2200

7 Stars

EARTH

Machine/ Effect

This card cannot be Normal Summon or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned, by removing from play a Machine King from either the field or in your Graveyard. This card games 100 attack points for each Machine Type monster on the Field or in the Graveyard. As long as this card remains face up on the field Machine Type monsters cannot be affected by Spells or Traps Cards.


	5. Raring to Go

The next day after Ragnar's duel with Heather, a fleet of ships and air planes cruised through the ocean. It was like they were heading off to war or something of the sort. "Well, everyone," the Captain spoke to his crew.

"It's been a long journey, it seems like everyone's been after us with attack subs, secret spies and air force fighters but it'll all pay off soon. We will arrive at our destination with our payload safe and intact. Now, full speed ahead, this is the moment we've been waiting for, the moment Duel Academy gets their new rare cards!"

"Please, please, please, let me pass this test." Fishlegs was sitting at the desk with lit candles and wearing a white headband with three Monster Reborn cards on them. He was praying to a poster of Slifer the Sky Dragon; apparently he had little to no faith on passing. "I don't want to be stuck in this red jacket forever… not that anything's wrong with red, I mean it looks great on you, Slifer… I wanna be in Ra Yellow! Please give me a sign that you will help!"

*RING!*

"SLIFER!" Fishlegs freaked, but he just heard the alarm clock ringing. "Just the alarm clock…" He walked over where the clock was residing, which was right next to Hiccup's head, "…and as usual, Hiccup's sleeps through it." Ragnar had already woken up lighting early and was no doubt at the capital revising for the test. Fishlegs started to push Hiccup slightly. "Hiccup, wake up; the tests are today and we don't wanna be…"

"Wrong!" Hiccup yelled, smacking Fishlegs in the face, knocking the poor Slifer to the floor. "'Because I played a trap!" Hiccup was still sleeping and turned over on the bed.

Fishlegs groaned, "Why can't he ever sleep in defence mode? It'd be a lot safer!" He then attempted to wake Hiccup up again. "Hiccup, we're gonna be late. I'll save you a seat… hurry!"

He then ran out of the door and ran over to the camp is as bad as his little legs could carry him.

* * *

Hiccup awoke a few hours later and he was running over to the campus. He had overslept again and he couldn't have chosen a worse time to oversleep.

"Déjà vu all over again," he groaned.

He then ran has a lady who was having difficulty moving her ran up the hill. He stopped and looked back. "Ah, to be a gentleman or be on time?" There was no way he could leave her behind. "Fine gentleman it is."

He then rushed over to the lady and helped her move her van up the hill. "Hang on, I'll give you a hand."

"Oh, thank you you're certainly a nice young man," said the lady.

"Yeah, a nice young man who also is quite good with mechanics," said Hiccup.

"You're suddenly a sweet boy, I'll remember this."

In the classroom the exam had started out Fishlegs and Ragnar noticed that Hiccup still hadn't arrived.

"You have forty-five minutes left to finish your test," said Banner.

Then they saw Hiccup entered into the classroom his face covered in oil. They looked at each other, what had he been doing?

"Hey Slacker!" said Snotlout smirking. "Decided to finally show up?"

"I was a bit busy," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup, why don't you come down here and get your exam?" Banner advised.

Hiccup then went down to the front of the classroom to grab his test from Banner and returned to his seat.

Astrid rolled her eyes. ' _I hope he knows what he's doing with fifty minutes into this test_. _He'll be lucky if even finishes._ '

Speedfist just shook his head. ' _Look at him, tardy puerile if only he applied himself he could be a great duellist._ '

* * *

Unknown to anyone Spitelout was watching the test through a crack in the door. "Ha, you might be able to get a decent pass in the written exam, Hiccup. But when your field test starts believe me it will be a nightmare."

Forty-five minutes later the test was finished.

"All right, children, the written exam is now over, now please walk don't run to get in line for your new rare cards," said Banner.

"They're here!?"

"Oh dear."

As soon as those words left the professor's mouth, a mass mob of students ran out from the classroom as everyone took off. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs have been run over by the students and were just getting back onto their seats.

"Did a tornado again hit?" Hiccup moaned rubbing his head.

"Not a bad guess," said Speedfist. "The new rare cards arrived today. Everyone is at the card shack."

"What?" Fishlegs exclaimed. "New cards? How come no one told me?"

"Because everyone wants the best cards for themselves to use in the upcoming field test," Speedfist explained.

"So, why aren't you getting some?" Fishlegs asked.

"Please, one errant card in my deck and my balance would be completely thrown off."

"Mine wouldn't," said Fishlegs.

"So, let's go," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, there's nothing like the smell of new cards in the morning," said Hiccup.

* * *

At the card shack, the students were banging down on the steel door, hoping to get at the cards before anybody else…

There was also some guards forming a fence between them for some reason… a reason about to make itself known… hopefully.

"Oh children," the officer called to the mob of students who were banging up against the metal door blocking the Card Shop. "Looking for these?" The crowd burst into cheers. He held out the brief case. The metal door slid opened a crack. The officer bent down to enter. "Then come and get them."

The metal doors opened and the card shop was revealed. The brief case was on a table.

It was empty.

A face fault on a massive scale erupted from the students, arguments about where the cards were erupting not even a nanosecond after.

A counter girl was standing by the brief case and so was a man in a long black coat and hat. "You know the rules, first come first serve," the counter girl said.

"And I was here first, so I took everyone!" The man replied.

The crowd melted away, all with negative feelings of the entire ordeal.

* * *

The three young Slifers ran into the Card Shop, but it was completely emptied.

"Where is everyone?" Fishlegs asked. "They couldn't have?"

The three boys stared at one another. "They ran out of cards already!?"

They quickly ran up to the counter hoping against hope that there were still a few cards left.

"Excuse me, counter girl?" Hiccup asked. "You still have some cards left right?"

"Of course, we have some left. Just regular packs though." She then pulled out a single pack. "Here you go."

"Just our luck," Hiccup moaned.

"I'm done for," said Fishlegs. "I'm going to flunk my duelling test because upgrade my deck."

"Just take the pack," said Hiccup.

"Really? You give me the last pack they have, but what about you and Ragnar?"

"My deck should be perfectly fine," Ragnar assured.

"Same with me," said Hiccup.

"But you missed over half the exam and what if you lose?" said Fishlegs.

"Well look who it is," said a familiar voice.

Hiccup turn and found the lady he held earlier today behind the counter.

"Wait, you work here?" Hiccup asked.

She laughed. "No, I don't work here I own here."

"Hang on, how do you do know each other?" Fishlegs asked.

"I think there was a problem with the carburettor," said Hiccup.

"And I know you very well, Hiccup," she said.

Hiccup blinked. "Hang on, I never told you my name."

"My name is Phlegma and I was a close friend of your mother's. And I might be able to help you."

* * *

Snotlout's friends had just explained what happened at the card shop to him. "We couldn't get you a single one, sorry, Snotlout."

"You know what's sorry? You two, but it doesn't matter, because there's not a single Duellist at this school who can beat me no matter what card they carry."

"Unless that single Duellist happens Hiccup Haddock." The three Obelisk Blues turned to see a man in a long black coat and hat.

"Who are you?"

"Somebody who thinks you despise Hiccup just as much as I do."

"That's him!" Dogsbreath cried. "That's the sticky fingers who took all of the rare cards?"

"Rare cards, what rare cards? Oh, you mean… these cards!" He spread his jacket open to reveal row after row of cards.

"Talk about having a card up your sleeve!"

"Enough of this cloak and dagger," said Snotlout. "Tell me who you really are!"

"Don't recognize me, do you, son? Well, how about now!" He threw off his hat to reveal that…

"Dad!"

"Spitelout!"

"You looked better all covered up," said Snotlout dismissively.

Spitelout face faulted. "Is that any way to talk to your old man, who's going to help you beat Hiccup Haddock on the field test?"

Snotlout growled, "But we're not in the same dorm," he pointed out. "They won't let me be his test opponent."

"They? I am they… I'll make it happen and you just be sure that you use all of these rare cards in the field test against him. And once he loses miserably, he'll be kicked out of the school!" Spitelout handed Snotlout a stack of rare cards.

* * *

Making it to the field exam in time, Hiccup was called down first as having one of the first matches. When he saw his opponent, he did a double take to make sure he was in the right spot.

When he realized he was, he gasped, "You mean I'm duelling an Obelisk and it's Snotlout?" He asked Spitelout who was judging their exam.

"That's right, Hiccup," the teacher confirmed. "Since you always talk such a big game, I decided to pull some strings for you so you got the challenge you deserve." He pointed to Snotlout, "So congratulations, you'll be duelling one of the top ranked students at the school. What an honour! I sure hope you were able to snag a lot of today's rare cards so that your deck's up to snuff." Hiccup could sense something was wrong with the tone of Spitelout's voice. "What's wrong, aren't you going to thank me?"

"This is bad," said Fishlegs

"They can actually put a Slifer versus an Obelisk!?" Heather asked half-curiously and half-angrily.

"This is clearly a trap," said Spitelout, knowing that something was wrong too. "Only a cavalier fool would agree to this."

"But if he backs down now everyone will assume that he's just scared and he would fail the exam," Ragnar pointed out. "He doesn't have any choice he has to take part."

"All right, I'll duel your son," said Hiccup. "Now I'll get to finish what Ragnar and you started at Obelisk Arena."

"Indeed," said Spitelout indifferently. "And in front of the whole school too so everyone can watch."

"Yeah, watch you get slammed by me," Snotlout jabbed. They inserted their decks into their Duel Disks.

"Let's duel!"

Spitelout ran out of the way.

Snotlout: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

"You're not gonna run away this time," said Hiccup.

"Bring it on Slifer Slime," said Snotlout.

"Oh, it's on," said Hiccup as he drew his first card. "All right, I think of some in my Dragon Knight Blech in defence mode." Then a warrior wearing green dragon-like armour appeared on the field. (ATK: 1200. DEF: 1200). "And when he summoned I can take Dragon Knight Barf from my deck and plated in my hand."

"And that'll be all," Hiccup declared.

"Don't think that excuse of a warrior stands a chance against me, or against this!" He drew a card. ' _Appreciate the rare card, Snotlout_.' "Fresh off the presses, Magical Mallet!"

"What's that?" Hiccup asked.

"A redo, all the cards in my hand that I don't want I return to my deck, then I can shuffle and draw the same number of cards."

"A rare card on the first draw?" Fishlegs gasped.

"And a very dangerous card at that," Speedfist explained. "Now Snotlout will be able to pick exactly which cards he wants and which cards he doesn't."

"I didn't even get to the best part," said Snotlout, redrawing from his deck and showing Magical Mallet again. "You see, Hiccup, I got to shuffle Magical Mallet too! So if I drew it again, which I just did, I can play it again and again. And that comes in handy, know why?"

"Because you're searching for a particular card," said Hiccup.

"Got that right and I just got it! V-Tiger Jet, sharpen your claws for attack mode!" A yellow mechanical tiger, shaped like a fighter jet appeared. (1600/1800)

"Jeez, things aren't looking good!" said Heather.

"And there's a lot more where that came from! Check out the magic of Frontline Base, it lets me summon a level 4 or below monster this turn. And I have just the one, W-Wing Catapult!" A blue jet platform appeared. (1300/1500) "Gentlemen, start your engines!" The set of wings took off and the V-Tiger Jet soon joined it. "Now merge!" The Catapult revealed two missile launchers. The Tiger Jet landed on top of it. Thruster units appeared on the back of both the machines. (2000/2100) "All right, the VW-Tiger Catapult!"

"At least Hiccup's monsters in defence mode," Astrid noted.

"But wait, I'm not done yet, because he still has his special ability." Snotlout told Hiccup.

"That's not good," Hiccup complained.

"Give me a break! Is this guy's turn going to end sometime this century?" Fishlegs asked.

"By sending a card to the graveyard, I can force one of your monsters into attack mode!" Hiccup gasped as Belch stood up from his kneeling position. "So after this Heat-Seeker Blitz from my Tiger Catapult, your life points are toast!" The Tiger Catapult fired its missiles. Hiccup groaned from the smoke produced by Belch's destruction.

Snotlout: 4000

Hiccup: 3200

Snotlout saw all this from the special viewing box where he was watching with Chancellor Stoick, who was watching with great interest. "My goodness," he said with fake sincerity. "Looks like Hiccup can't play with the big boys after all. I guess he's not as good as he thinks."

Stoick just stared out the window.

"I'll finish up with two cards face-down." Said Snotlout as two face down cards appeared at his feet.

Hiccup drew. "I'll summon Dragon Knight Barf in defence mode." Then a warrior looking very similar to Belch appeared on the field. (ATK: 1200. DEF: 1200) "And I'll end my turn with one face down." A facedown appeared in front of him.

"Not much of he can do with all the new rares Snotlout seems to have," said Speedfist.

"It's just not fair," said Fishlegs.

"Hopefully he'll be able to find a way," said Ragnar.

Astrid looked at Heather. "This is a complete mismatch," she said. "How can Hiccup fightback when he doesn't know what he's fighting?"

"I know," Heather agreed.

"Ready for round two, Slifer Slime?" Snotlout taunted as he drew. He smirked as he looked as card. "Ready to get pummeled?" A blue machine with a spike ball lower region and two cannon barrels on its shoulders appeared. (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500) "Because X-Head Cannon is ready to attack and thanks to Frontline Base, so is Z-Metal Tank." A yellow tank that looked more like some kind of cruiser than an actual tank also appeared. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300)

"Wait, if he has X and Z," said Fishlegs. "That can mean only one thing…"

"Now I play my other face-down card," Snotlout said as his trap card was lifted up. "Call of the Haunted, this lets me bring a monster back from the graveyard. And I choose…" A red metallic dragon appeared. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)

"No way!" Astrid and Heather gasped.

"He has it!" Speedfist confirmed.

"It's him!" Fishlegs gasped.

"And that's a whole lot of trouble for Hiccup," said Ragnar.

"That's right, it's Y-Dragon Head! I discarded it with my Tiger Catapult's special ability." The new monsters flew up and began to lock on to one another, with X taking the top, Y in the middle and Z on the bottom. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600) "And next I'll combine them to create the XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"

"Now Snotlout has two monsters out with over 2000 attack points each," said Speedfist.

"But wait, Hiccup, there's more." Hiccup gasped. "Actually, less, you see they say that two heads are better than one. But I would have to disagree, especially when the one in question is the ultimate V to Z Dragon Catapult Cannon!" The two machines joined and transformed. The new creation looked vaguely humanoid and was made up of all the machine monsters Snotlout had. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2800)

"Makes your Dragon Knight Barf look like a toy soldier, or at least it did." Barf disappeared.

"My Dragon Knight!" Hiccup cried as the audience gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, didn't I mention V to Z's special ability? He allows me to remove one card on your side of the field once per turn." He chuckled. "And if you think that's impressive, wait until you see its attack, an attack that will strike your life points directly." The machine prepared its guns as it took aim at Hiccup.

"Not so fast Snotlout I've got a Trap. Dragon Knight Reinforcements!" Hiccup cried as he revealed his face down which showed an image of a duellist with Dragon Knight Hookfang exiting from their deck.

"Blast," Spitelout hissed.

"Dragon Knight what?" said Snotlout.

"Let me explain how this track works, but I draw card and if it happens to be a monster I can summon it. However if it's a Spell or Trap Card then I go straight to the grave and I take 500 points of damage.

"There's no way you can pull it off," said Snotlout.

"Let's find out." Hiccup drew his card and smirked as he looked at it. "I summon Dragon Knight Meatlug in defence mode!" Everyone gasped as Meatlug appeared on the field. (ATK: 1300. DEF: 2000)

"That's what you think you Slifer Slacker! When Dragon Catapult Cannon attack I get to choose your monsters mode! And you know what I'm due to attack mode!" Snotlout yelled. Hiccup watched in horror as Meatlug was forced into attack mode and as Catapult Cannon fired on her. "Which means not only is she sat, but your life points will be!"

"I can still save my monster by discarding one card from my hand," said Hiccup as he send a card to his Graveyard.

Catapult Cannon's blasted Meatlug and though she was not destroyed Hiccup was almost sent backwards by the shock wave of the attack.

Snotlout: 4000

Hiccup: 1500

Fishlegs and the others gasped. "Hiccup!"

"Aww, what's the matter, Hiccup, having some test anxiety?" Snotlout taunted. "Don't worry it will be over soon."

"No way, Snotlout" said Hiccup. "I've got whole army of vicious monsters in my deck waiting just to get you. This isn't over! It's just barely started!"

He then drew his card and his eyes widened it was a Trap Card that Phlegma gave him just before the exam.

'Your mother gave me this card and told me to give it to you if you would ever become the nice young man she wanted you to be,' said Phlegma giving him the card.

He looked at his hand and so we had the perfect card standing by. There was no way Snotlout could resist blasting him.

"Now since you have a monster on the field I can summon this guy with only one sacrifice. So I now sacrifice my Meatlug in order to summon my Dragon Knight Toothless in defence mode!" Hiccup yelled. Meatlug vanish and was replaced with Toothless. (ATK: 2500. DEF: 2200). "And I'll end my turn with one facedown."

"Not much of one," said Fishlegs. "He's been doing is playing defence."

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Hiccup," said Astrid.

Snotlout snorted as he drew his card. "You truly are Slacker, because while he's strong he's not strong enough to take down my Dragon Catapult Cannon. I'm going to enjoy destroying your favourite monster."

"You don't scare me," said Hiccup.

"No big deal. I don't have to do that's his job," said Snotlout gesturing to his Catapult Cannon. "Dragon Catapult Cannon attack!"

Catapult Cannon did as he was commanded and fired its laces down upon Toothless.

"Boy, he must be arrogantly be denied the rate is monsters ability," said Ragnar.

"I knew you couldn't resist attacking my Toothless," said Hiccup smirking. "That's why I have this facedown card. I sent two cards for my hand at the grave in order to activate my Dive Bomb Trap Card!"

His face down revealed to be a Trap Card with Dragon Knight Toothless jumping into a massive inferno.

"Where did he get that?" Spitelout cried.

Toothless then blocked Snotlout's Catapult Cannon attack with his bare hands.

"It can't be!" Snotlout cried.

"Oh, it be," said Hiccup. "My Dive Bomb Trap Card can only activate if you attack Toothless. Now all I have to do is sacrifice Toothless he is able to destroy every monster on your side of the field that in attack mode and then you take damage equal to all their combined attack points. Toothless! Show them what I mean, bud!"

Toothless nodded and then flew straight towards Snotlout's Catapult Cannon which led to a huge explosion and a massive shock wave hit Snotlout.

Snotlout: 3000

Hiccup: 1500

"Lucky punk," Snotlout growled.

"Lucky? Nah, I just have a soft spot with old ladies, but not to you Snotlout," said Hiccup. "Your hand is empty which means you're forced to end your turn and if I managed to draw a monster with another attack points this duel is over."

Hiccup then drew his card he look at it and smirked. "I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang!" Everyone gasped as Hookfang appeared on the field. "Now attack!"

Snotlout just watched in horror as Hookfang charged towards him there was nothing he could do. Hoofang then slammed his mace on top of Snotlout and he fell to his knees.

Snotlout: 0

Hiccup: 1500 (Winner)

"He won!" His friends cheered.

"Impossible!" Spitelout cried leaning against the glass. "Not with all the rare cards I gave my son, this simply can't be!"

Stoick raised an eyebrow. "Rare cards, what exactly are you talking about, Spitelout?"

Spitelout he forgot that he'd been talking out loud and that Chancellor Stoick was listening in. "Uh… nothing… I… uh… have to go grade some tests." He quickly walked off.

Snotlout laughed at Spitelout's back.

Hiccup waved to the crowd who was cheering for him, and pointed at Snotlout with a smirk. "Guess that's it, unless you want to duel again."

"Oh we will," Snotlout hissed.

"Hiccup!"

"Hey Hiccup!" Ragnar, Fishlegs and Speedfist ran up to him.

Then silence fell as Chancellor Stoick and Spitelout approach to them.

"That was well done, Hiccup," said Stoick.

"So, now you show yourself," said Hiccup narrowing his eyes.

Fishlegs gasped in horror and an evil smile appeared on Spitelout's face.

"That's no way to talk to the Chancellor," said Spitelout.

However, Stoick raised a hand. "It is fine Spitelout, he has every right to talk to me like that. It is not like I was there for him when his mother disappeared."

Everyone just stared at him not understanding the meaning of this. Stoick just looked down at Hiccup. "That was a fine duel, son."

"I didn't do it for you, Dad," said Hiccup crossing his arms.

Everyone looked between Hiccup and Stoick in bewilderment. The only similarity between the two of them was that they have the same emerald green eyes, but other than that they would nothing like.

"Chancellor, you can't be serious?" said Spitelout. "If so why is he not in Obelisk?"

"Because my son didn't want any favours, is rather start from the bottom of the barrel and climb the ladder the hard way rather than taking shortcuts." He then looked at Hiccup. "Never in the history of our revered academy has a Slifer ever duelled an Obelisk at these exams. Not only did you hold your own, but you won! Your courage against overwhelming odds is… inspiring. It is with great pride that I grant you the promotion to Ra Yellow. Good job!"

The crowd cheered again.

"You're the best, Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Good show, Hiccup, allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Ra dorm." Speedfist offered.

"Thanks," said Hiccup, but then he looked at his father. "But I'm happy to stay well I am." Everyone stared at him. "At the moment I just feel more at home in the red dorm and I just to leave just yet."

Stoick blinked and nodded. "I can respect that, but the offer still stands if you ever change your mind." He then chuckled to himself. "Though I doubt it you are extremely stubborn."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "I got it from you?"

Stoick laughed. "True enough."

Up in the stands Astrid just shook her head. "He certainly the most curious person I ever met."

"I know, I can't wait to see what he's going to do next," said Heather.

* * *

Dragon Knight Barf

ATK: 1200 DEF: 1200

4 Stars

DARK

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-Type while on the field or in the graveyard. When this card is successively summoned take one Dragon Knight Belch and add it to your hand.

Dragon Knight Belch

ATK: 1200 DEF: 1200

4 Stars

DARK

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-Type while on the field or in the graveyard. When this card is successively summoned take one Dragon Knight Barf and add it to your hand.

Dragon Knight Reinforcements

Trap Card

When you're planning to close an attack you can check the top card of your deck and if it is a monster you can summon it face up onto the field. If it a Spell or Trap Card sent to the grave and you take 500 point of damage.

Card image: Dragon Knight Hookfang jumping of a player's deck.

Dive Bomb

Trap Card

This card can only be activated if a face-up Dragon Knight Toothless is selected as an attack target. By discarding two cards from your hand and sacrificing a face-up Dragon Knight Toothless you can destroy all monsters you're opponent controls that are in attack position. The opponent takes damage equal to combined attack point of all monsters destroyed by this effect.

Card image: Dragon Knight Toothless jumping into a fiery inferno.


	6. The Shadow Duelist Part 1

The Abandoned Dorm, a forbidden place as per the rules at Duel Academy, and a spooky one at that. It wasn't like any of the dorms today, heck if it was still a verified, living dorm people would be ecstatic to live at least in the Slifer Red Dorm. It was a large, run-down building with boards over the windows and the front door broken open. As lonely as the place was, one person frequently visited since she came to the island. That person was Astrid Hofferson. She walked through the trees and stopped right at the wall and 'Do not enter' sign. Next, she laid down a red rose at base of the wall and prayed…

"Be at peace brother, wherever you are…"

Astrid decided after finding out where the dorm was to make a little tradition to come and say a small prayer for his safe return. She wrapped her arms around herself to protect from the cold and from the feeling of pain.

She missed her brother dearly. The time in which he's been missing had been a difficult time for her and her uncle. An emotional mess would've been a nice way of putting it. The comfort of her childhood best friend Heather was nice and still is to have, but it could only go so far in terms of actually making things better.

She sighed before turning and walking away from the accursed dorm. She didn't need to be stressing herself out over something that was probably nothing and turning it into something.

* * *

At the Slifer dorm's mess hall Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were telling ghost stories to pass the time.

"I went out into the woods, and underneath the full moon, I see a path leading to a cavern that seems… abandoned!" said Fishlegs taking his turn.

"Oh really?" Hiccup asked interested. "And then what?"

"Then at the back of the cavern I see a mysterious lake. So I go in to look very carefully. And under just the right angle of light, at the very bottom of the lake beyond my reflection, I see a rare and powerful card. Naturally, I go to get it, but when I reach out for it… an arm shoots out of the water, grabs me, and begins to PULL ME INTO THE LAKE! AAAAAHHHHHHHH! HELP ME, NOT THE WATER, NOT THE WATER!"

Apparently Fishlegs had gotten so into his story that he thought he was living it out.

"Water's not so scary," said Ragnar.

"Not even dirty swampy water?" Fishlegs asked.

"Still, good story," said Hiccup picking up a four-star monster called Earthbound Spirit. "Mid-level scares for a mid-level card." The rules were you had to tell a scary story depending on the level of the monster was. Hiccup pulled a card, getting a Sinister Servant, a level 1.

"Ha, you lucked out, you hardly had to scale us at all that low card," said Fishlegs.

"All right," said Hiccup flaking the card down. "I think I may have a story that will do the trick. Well, it's more like a memory. Back when I was a little kid I used to hear sounds, but I'd only hear them really late at night. I think I was dreaming, but then… they sounded like voices, but not ones I recognised. I would go to check it out, but every time I did there was nothing… nothing there at all, except my cards."

Ragnar and Fishlegs leaned in closer.

"And?" Fishlegs asked.

"And that's the end of the story."

"That's it?" Ragnar and Fishlegs complained.

"But you want to hear something strange. I never stopped hearing those voices and they become more intense when I duel," said Hiccup.

It was true in almost seemed like he had a special connection with the cards in his deck whenever he duelled and that what gave him the confidence to duel.

"HAAA!" said a voice behind Hiccup. "Hey I want to join in on the fright fest."

All the emphatically jumped out of their skin, and soon discovered that it was Gobber.

"You just did," said Fishlegs.

"The kind on the edge of our seats," said Hiccup with a hand over his heart.

"Or at least we were," said Ragnar. "But since you're here now why don't you draw card, why don't you draw a card, the tougher it is, the scarier it is."

"Well that sounds easy enough." Gobber drew a card.

It was the Five Headed Dragon, and it had the highest level possible!

"That's a Level 12 monster!" Hiccup gasped.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now," said Fishlegs.

"What is wrong? Don't you want to hear about the abandoned dorm?" Gobber asked.

"Abandoned dorm?" The three boys said at once.

Gobber pulled up a chair and sat down. "Did you know that there are actually four dorms on the island?" The boys shook their heads. "You only know of the three named after the Egyptian God Monsters, but back when this school was first constructed, a special fourth dorm was created. This dorm was made for those who were as good as Obelisk Blue but without the rudeness and snobbery. In fact, it was called the Millennium house."

"Really?" The boys asked.

Gobber nodded. "Nobody talks about it anymore. Because they shut it down because several students started to go missing."

"Where did they go?" Fishlegs asked.

"Well that's the mystery of it," Gobber replied. "But rumour was it had something to do with Shadow Games."

"I thought they were just a myth," said Ragnar.

"You see, children, Shadow Games are duels that are played with mystical objects called Millennium Items. Boys, this is what we discussed in class today, remember?"

"Oh yeah; the game of duel monsters started it in Ancient Egypt." Fishlegs mumbled.

"That's correct, but the Egyptians, their form of duelling was in Shadow Games. And if you lost, you got sent to the Shadow Realm, a mystical place that feeds on the darkness and fear of those who enter it. According to legend, Shadow Duels were very lethal and some even led to deaths."

"And what does this have to do with the abandoned dorm?" Hiccup asked.

"The dorm was originally built to study the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games. But then a team of researchers also started disappearing, so the rest were afraid that investigating it would lead to them being trapped forever in the Shadow Realm. When Kaiba Corporation first established this school, they made it into a dorm, but then the students who roomed their disappeared as well so they shut it down."

"And on that happy note let's say good night," said Ragnar.

Gobber chuckled. "I suppose it is a bit late and I should get back to my room, good night, Children." Gobber left out the door.

"Good night, Professor," the three boys said.

"I guess it must be that rundown building that I accidentally found the other day," Fishlegs wondered out loud.

"Then you can lead the way for us tomorrow night," said Ragnar.

"What do you mean tomorrow night?" Fishlegs asked.

"What do you mean us?" Hiccup threw in.

"It'll be fun," said Ragnar. "We might even find out what happened to all those missing people."

"I suppose we can have a quick look around," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs just groaned.

* * *

Unknown to them Spitelout heard the entire thing from outside the dorm, just 'conveniently' being around the dorm at the time. "This is just the opportunity I've been waiting for," he said excitedly. "I think it's time the Shadow Games make a comeback, Millennium Items and all." He walked away thinking of just the person to enlist for his selfish goal to expel Hiccup for making him look like a fool.

* * *

In a dark alleyway in Domino City, a duel was just about to wrap up with one of the participants scared out of his mind. "Okay, you win, just take whatever you want and go!"

"What I want," the metal masked man in a trench coat wearing a duel harness similar to Spitelout's but the tray on his sleeve, "Is your soul!" He held up a gold-coloured upside down pyramid with a single eye at the centre. It suddenly started glowing gold as the opponent protested again…

"Please show some mercy! Let me go!"

The man just looked on emotionlessly as the pyramid spread around the scared man. "Some mercy? What is that?" The gold light turned white as the opponent screamed and fell over, scattering the cards in his deck. "Rest in peace; in the shadows." As he went up to make sure his opponent was down and out, his cell phone rang. "Speak." The person on the phone spoke some details. "Duel Academy, tomorrow night… I'll be there." He hung up the phone and smirked.

* * *

The next day during class, Hiccup and his friends where in Banner's class, unaware that Spitelout was peeking in on them.

' _This will your last day in class, Silfer Slacker!_ ' Spitelout thought. ' _But you'll have your real lesson… on the Shadow Games!_ '

* * *

Hiccup was strolling through the halls of the academy, trying to find out as much as he could about the abandoned dorm. He wanted to make sure they didn't end up disappearing. Normally he could be opposed to the idea of going, but the dorm might have clues leading to his mother.

Turning a corner, he caught sight of Astrid. He saw her staring out the window towards the ocean. She looked to be lost in thought as her body stayed still and her sight looking to be far away.

Curious as to what she could possibly be looking at, Hiccup looked out the window as well. Nothing out of the ordinary, he observed as he walked so he was closer to her and the window. The waves were splashing against the rocks, small little drops of water glowing in the air as they danced back to the ground. It really was a beautiful sight to behold.

"Amazing, huh?" Astrid asked as the pellets of water fell back to the ocean beneath them. "Most people would just ignore this and not pay any mind," she smiled a smile that got Hiccup's lips to upturn into a small one as well. "But I like the small things in life; the stuff that you wouldn't see right away as important…"

"I know what you mean," Hiccup nodded. "Things like a beautiful day, friends, family, and love are what I see as the essentials in life…" he agreed.

Astrid smirked, "And duelling?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Guilty."

He couldn't help, but notice the sad look on Astrid's face. "What's up, Astrid? Something wrong?"

She sighed. "Its just that… I miss my family. At least you know your father is close by, my parents are long gone." She couldn't stop the words before they came out, but they felt good to say the least.

"I know what its like to lose family," he admitted almost instantly.

Astrid was about to ask what he meant, but saw him walk off.

* * *

Later that night Spitelout stood alone on the docks next to the lighthouse, waiting. After an eternity of waiting, he was about to give up when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw a person in black standing a few feet away from him.

One of these people was a tall man in a black trenchcoat and a widebrimmed hat, Spitelout looked back to the man, "So you're the one they called the Shadow Duelist?" he asked.

The tall man smirked, "My opponent's call me many things, but most of them are hard to discern through their shrieks of horror. But enough small talk. What's the job?" he asked as a fog appeared around them.

Spitelout smiled as he informed him of the work, displaying a picture Hiccup. "I want you to frighten this person so intensely, he'll leave this academy and never come back! Are you up to the challenge?"

"Of course I am!" The shadow duelist replied. "I never turn my back on a challenge."

"Very good."

"I'm better than good and I'll prove it…" he said as he backed away slowly. "By scaring someone, but by banishing him to the Shadow Realm."

"If you insist…" said Spitelout as he left. "I can't wait to hear all about how Hiccup screamed like little girl!" Spitelout laughed as he walked away.

* * *

At the same time, Hiccup and the others started their walk to find the Abandoned Dorm. An hour into the trip so far and they found nothing.

"You know, you could think of it as being lost," said Ragnar after another failed find. "Or you could think of it as us finding a few places where it's not…"

"Well it could be worse, ya know," said Hiccup thought out loud. "Well, worse for Fishlegs anyway."

"Like how?" Ragnar asked.

"We could find a large puddle of dirty swamp water…"

Fishlegs glared at him. "Very funny."

"Hey guys...check it out," Ragnar aimed his flashlight ahead of them. They looked ahead to see a rose lying on the ground in front of a wall.

Fishlegs tugged at Ragnar's sleeve, "Look what's behind it…" Ragnar looked up to see a run-down building with boards and debris everywhere.

"The old dorm!"

Fishlegs moved behind the rest of the boys, "And it probably got lots of ghosts in there, too…"

"Relax, Fishlegs...no one's here," Hiccup assured him.

Then they heard a loud snapping sound was heard. "What was that?!" Fishlegs freaked.

Hiccup turned and watched Astrid step into his flashlight. "Hey Astrid...what are you doing here?" he asked.

Astrid frowned, "Funny...we were about to ask you guys the very same thing."

"Well we heard about the dorm and wanted to check it out…" Ragnar explained.

"Well, that's not very intelligent. Don't you know that kids have a way of disappearing around here?" Astrid inquired, walking closer to them.

"We heard," said Ragnar.

"You should leave. Believe me I know; why else would the Academy close this place off?" She told them. "Plus, it's completely forbidden. If any faculty catches any of you here, you will get expelled!"

Hiccup rate and eyebrow. "Then what are you doing here?" he wondered.

The Queen of Obelisk Blue turned bright red, "I have my reasons, that's why!" she snapped.

Hiccup shrank back at the tone of Astrid's' voice. "Wow, Astrid, no need to snap. We just came to look around. Don't worry, we'll stay out of your way, I promise!"

Astrid sighed and walked a short distance away, "Look… it's just that…"

She then walked off. "Just… what?" Fishlegs asked.

"One of the kids here that disappeared… was my brother." She finished quietly and she walked away.

Hiccup looked away and stared at the rose on the ground. ' _That explains the rose_ …' he thought.

"If Astrid's brother really was one of the kids that disappeared, then the rumours about this place were true the whole time." Hiccup mumbled to himself.

Fishlegs looked at the old building again. "I say we go back Ragnar…"

"I say give us even more reason to look in," said Ragnar.

"SAY WHAT?!" Fishlegs shouted.

Hiccup and Ragnar began to walk towards the dorm, with their flashlights leading their way. Hiccup waved at the lagging Slifer. "See you in a few, Fishlegs. Don't disappear on us."

"Oh wait up!" Fishlegs ran in after his fellow Slifers, not wanting to be left behind and believing in the whole safety in numbers thing.

Astrid watched as the end of the dorm and shook her head. 'I hope you know what you're doing Hiccup.'

She then began to walk away, but slammed into a shadowy figure. Before she could do anything he grabbed her, screaming the scream all horror movie producers searched and would kill for.

* * *

Back with the Slifers, they were checking out the inside of the dorm. It was more rundown inside they outside; looked like an inside storm hit the rooms and halls.

"Talk about your fixer upper," said Ragnar.

"It could certainly do with a lick of paint," Hiccup agreed.

"This place is worse than the Slifer Dorm!" said Fislhegs. "I mean… look at this!" he pointed his light to a nearby wall. On it, was a large amount of symbols and letters carved or painted on. "What the heck is all this?"

"Do you think it has to do with the Shadow Games Banner was talking about?" Ragnar thought aloud, looking at the marks.

Hiccup walked up and peered closely at one of the sets, "Hey you know what? I think this wall shows the seven Millennium Items! Ring, Puzzle, Scale, Key, Rod, Eye, and Necklace… I've only heard legends about these things and they don't often end well."

Hiccup turned his flashlight towards another wall with a photograph on the wall. "And that's someone I've never seen before…"

It showed the picture of a young brunette man with blond hair wearing the Obelisk uniform.

* * *

In another part of the dorm, Astrid woke up in a coffin with her wrists and ankles tied together.

"Where am I?" She wondered.

"Dangling on a hook, just waiting for your friends to fall into my trap!" She heard a sinister voice.

"Hiccup…" She gasped.

Then she saw an eye flash in front of her and screams filled the entire room.

* * *

The Slifer boys continued to look around, until a loud scream ripped through the air.

"What was that?" Fishlegs cringed.

"It sounded like Astrid!" Hiccup shouted, running towards the hallway where they came from. The other two quickly followed suit downstairs until Hiccup suddenly came to a stop. He bent down and picked up something from the floor.

"It's… it's one of Astrid's' cards!" he gasped, holding up one of the Valkyrie cards from their duel.

"Well, there's only one way she could have gone," said Ragnar gesturing to a passageway.

"Then that's the way we're going," said Hiccup.

They ran down the corridor and soon entered a chamber that had to be the weirdest basement in the entire world. However, their main concern was Astrid, who was in a coffin. She was unconscious, but looked okay otherwise.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled.

They then heard a malevolent laugh. "She can't hear you. She's far away locked in the Shadow Realm.

"Who's there?" Hiccup demanded.

A tall figure in black wearing a metal mask appeared out of the mist.

"Your worst nightmare come true," he said.

Ragnar rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Give me a break."

"Then let me prove it to you, in a Shadow Game," said the masked man.

"I know of him, his duelling mercenary by the name of Titan," said Ragnar.

"Never mind that we need to get Astrid back," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah! Hand her over right now or you'll be sorry!" Hiccup demanded.

"The only way I will freer is if you beat me in a Shadow Game!" said Titan.

Hiccup stepped forward, "Look I'm not afraid of duelling you, so let her go now!"

Titan laughed darkly, "My foes don't get to make demands! They're too busy screaming as they get sucked into the Shadow Realm!"

"So you're the one behind the disappearances! Well this time is different, you won't take Astrid!" Hiccup swore.

"Unless you win she's mine forever as you will be."

Ragnar then gave him his Duel Disk and Hiccup nodded. "Then you don't leave me much choice."

Titan smirked as he activated his own Duel Disk, "You don't have a choice to start with."

Hiccup looked at the Astrid with a sideways glance. "Just hang on Astrid, I'll get out of there."

Titan: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

After both players grabbed their opening hands, Titan began the duel on his Draw Phase. "Prepare yourself fool, to enter the Shadows! I summon forth Infernalqueen Archfiend in Attack mode!" Hiccup watched as a large, bone-covered creature in dark robes appeared on the field, screeching. (ATK: 900/DEF: 1500)

"An Archfiend monster?"

"Yes… and now that this card's out, each and every monster that has Archfiend in its name gains 1000 ATK points!" Purple fog seeped into the Archfiend's body as she grew more powerful. (ATK: 900-1900)

"Uh, yeah, I actually already knew that," said Hiccup grinning. "I also know to keep an Archfiend monster on the field, you have to pay Life Points during every Standby Phase of your turn!"

"Hehehe… no I don't," said Titan, confusing the Slifers. "Not after I play this, the field spell card Pandemonium!"

Titan inserted a card into his custom Duel Disk, causing a light to shine across the field, forcing the others to cover their eyes at the brightness. When they opened their The room around them soon changed into a disturbing room with bone statues of horrid monsters and bone-laced walls and a lava pool in the middle of the field.

"Not good," said Hiccup.

"Judging from your tone I guess you know that it doesn't just change the scenery, it changes the rules!" Titan declared. "Now, I don't have to pay Life Points in order to keep my Archfiend on the field! Also, if they're ever destroyed outside of battle, I get to place another Archfiend of a lower level right into my hand!"

' _Now this'll be harder than normal since he's not losing points from them_ …' Hiccup thought as Fishlegs shivered in fear of the room.

"I know what you're thinking, foolish boy," Titan turned to the motionless form of Astrid's, "Your little friend's fate is all but sealed and you know what?" he paused as the coffin she lay in closed up and started to disappear into the ground before it just stopped.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Ragnar yelled.

"Yeah, what have you done?" Fishlegs demanded.

"The same thing that I will do to the both of you should you continue to pester and annoy me!" Titan yelled.

Ragnar narrowed his eyes while Fishlegs hid behind him.

"Hey, just leave my friends out of this. My draw," said Hiccup as he drew a card. He looked at his hand. ' _I have no car that can go up against his 1900 attack points, but maybe_ —" he then looked at Titan. "Okay I think I'll start things off by playing Dragon Knight Barf in defence mode." And Barf appeared in front of him. "And thanks to his ability I can grab Dragon Knight Belch and adding to my hand. And often is my turnoff of two-faced downs."

"Too bad you won't have the chance to use them," said Titan as he drew his card. "I summon Terrorking Archfiend, in attack mode!" Hiccup watched as he played a bone-covered creature that looked like it was wearing armour. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000) "Now you have two vicious Archfiends to content with. And thanks to the special ability of the Infernalqueen the Terrorking attack point automatically increased by 1000. Making an even more fiendish force to be reckoned with." They watched as purple fog covered the Archfiend. (ATK: 2000-3000)

"3000 attack points!" Hiccup gasped.

"That's right and now I'm going to use them all for good use, but first my Infernalqueen will attack your Knight!"

They watched as the Infernalqueen charge straight towards Barf. "I activate my Trap Card! Dragon Slayer Destroyer!" One of his face down revealed with an image of Marauding Captain being attacked by dragons. "Thanks to this card if you make the foolish mistake of attacking a Dragon-Type monster this car destroys the attacking monster."

"You really thought you were going to lead me into a trap?" Titan smirked. "Look around you and tell me who's trapped?"

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

"I mean your trap won't work against my Infernalqueen it simply activates her special ability. An ability that will determine our monster's fate by way of chance!"

They watched as several orbs appeared out of the lava pit in the centre of the room and each one of them had a number on them. They circle around Titan and formed a circle in a perfect alignment.

"This can't be good," said Hiccup.

"It's not. You see when she's targeted by an opponent's effect Infernalqueen's special ability gives me a gambling chance. A number between 1 and 6 selected at random and if it happens to be a 2 or a 5 then your trap is destroyed and Archfiend says to fight on my side." He then looked at Hiccup with a smirk. "So, let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happened shall we?"

The orbs and burst into flames and covered the number one then the flames rotated around the wheel.

"It's okay," Ragnar assured Fishlegs. "The odds are away in Hiccup's favour."

"I hope you're right," said Fishlegs.

The flames continue to circle around the wheel and then it stopped on two. "Two! It seems the chance has favoured the Infernalqueen Archfiend. Your trap is shattered!"

Hiccup could only watch as Infernalqueen continued her attack and sliced through Barf.

"Now my Terrorking attack him directly! Locust Storm Barrage!" Titan ordered.

His Terroking then unleashed a locus storm that slammed into Hiccup.

Titan: 1000

Hiccup: 4000

"Hiccup!" Ragnar and Fishlegs yelled.

Titan laughed. "And since this is a shadow game, you lose more than life points; but yourself to the shadows!" He held up the Millennium Item and within a second after lighting up, parts of Hiccup started to vanish.

"This is good," said Hiccup looking at what's left of his body.

Titan laughed. "It's the way of the Shadows. Transcending the Game, attacking your body."

Hiccup try to move, but he couldn't move his legs. "I can't move my feet."

"Of course not as a shadow fog rolls past you all will feel the darkness taking you into its grip."

Hiccup then saw Ragnar and Fishlegs choking by the dark fog that was filling the room.

"It's getting hard to breathe," said Ragnar with a hand over his throat.

"You are at the mercy of the night now," said Titan.

"I can't do anything," said Fishlegs.

"Treasure the numbness for it will not last soon you will be drawn into an infant chasm of eternal darkness where everything where every waking moment will be filled with—"

"Don't you know when to be quiet," said Hiccup.

"I would be careful of are you after all I hope more power thanks to my Millennium Item," said Titan and the eye began to glow.

"Wow," said Hiccup.

"Be careful, Hic!" Ragnar yelled.

"It's your move and make it count it may be your last," said Titan.

Hiccup look to disarm which was almost completely gone. ' _Great him down to 1000 life points and it's already my second turn._ ' He then smirked at Titan. ' _This just means that I can pull a great comeback._ '

Titan frowned after seeing the smile on Hiccup's face. ' _What is he smiling about?_ '

"All right it's my turn," said Hiccup as he drew his card. ' _And I hope it's not my last_.'

* * *

Dragon Slayer Destroyer

Trap Card

When the opponent attacks a Dragon Type monster on your side of the field that monster is destroyed.

Card image: Marauding Captain being attacked by dragons


	7. The Shadow Duelist Part 2

Titan: 4000

Hiccup: 1000

"Your destiny is set," said Titan. "Soon my Archfiend deck will finish off all your monsters and my Millennium Item will finish off your soul."

"This match isn't over yet," said Hiccup. "I play my Pot of Greed. This will allow me to draw two extra cards." He draw the two cards from deck and looked at them they were exactly what he needed. "And I'll play one of them: The Warrior Returning Alive. This car allows me to return my Barf to my hand and neck now play my Polymerization fusing him and my Belch together. In order to form Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman!"

They watch as both Barf and Belch appeared in front of Hiccup and began to fuse together. Seconds later a warrior in green and black dragon-like armour appeared. He bear resemblance to Barf and Belch, but he had long blonde hair and was much taller. In his hand he held two swords. (ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1800)

"He might stand a chance," said Ragnar.

"Now Twin Swordsman attack is Infernalqueen with Twin Dragon Sword Slash!" Hiccup yelled.

Twin Swordsman charge and sliced Infernalqueen in half causing herto explode.

Titan: 3500

Hiccup: 1000

"Oh, I forgot to mention that his special ability allows him to attack twice," said Hiccup.

"What!" Titan yelled.

"You heard me and don't forget without your Infernalqueen your Terrorking loses some attack points," said Hiccup.

They watch as the purple fog exited from Terrorking. (ATK: 3000-2000. Then Twin Swordsman turned and faced him and next thing they knew Terrorking was stabbed in the chest and exploded.

Titan: 3100

Hiccup: 1000

Then they noticed several parts of Titan's body disappearing.

"Hey, part of him are now disappearing to, Ragnar," said Fishlegs.

"Let's just hope that Hiccup and stay in this being," said Ragnar.

"It matters not, because I'm using Desrook Archfiend special effect. It allows me to resurrect Terrorking Archfiend by sending this card to the Graveyard," said Titan and he sent his Desrook Archfiend to the Graveyard. "Say hello to a not so old friend."

Then Terrorking reappeared on Titan's field.

"Him again?" said Hiccup.

"And now I activate the effect of the Field Spell Pandemonium! Its powerful magic allows me to draw a new Archfiend if one of my Archfiend monsters is ever sent to the graveyard." A card shot out of his Duel Vest. "Of course this new Archfiend can't be as powerful, but it matters not."

"All right, but I'll finish my turn off by playing my Dragon Knight Torch in defence mode," said Hiccup. Then a new monster appeared on Hiccup's field. It was a young warrior with fiery red armour. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1300) "Now come on, do your worst."

Titian smirked. "You want my worst? You should be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it." He then drew his next card and smiled. "Especially when this card is in the mix."

They watched as Terrorking vanished in a puff of smoke. "I sacrifice my Terrorking Archfiend and call forth the Skull Archfiend of Lightning!"

They watched as a new monster appeared, he bear a close resemblance to Summon Skull, but is skin colour was brighter and you looked a bit more menacing. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 1200)

"You wanted my worst? Well, now you have it every last supercharged bolt!"

Next thing they knew his Skull fired a bullet of lightning straight at Twin Swordsman and Hiccup got a slight charge.

Titan: 3100

Hiccup: 900

"Not good," said Fishlegs.

"Hiccup!" Ragnar yelled.

' _I've got to hang on. For Astrid,_ ' Hiccup thought.

Titan sneered and raised Millennium Item. "Look into my Millennium Item and feel yourself drifting even further into the shadows. You are defeated, your lifelines are all but gone soon you'll be nothing more than a hollow soulless shell."

Hiccup fell to his knees he felt very woozy and he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Feel yourself drifting, drifting, drifting," said Titan's voice.

' _I… can't see any more_ ," Hiccup thought. ' _What's happening to me?_ '

Titan lowered his Millennium Item smirking at Hiccup, who is now unable to move.

"He can't even stand up," said Ragnar fearfully.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

Titan smirked. ' _Look at him suffering. The Shadows are powerful weapon indeed even the one simply in your mind,_ ' he thought. ' _If only he knew_.'

* * *

Hiccup had no idea where he was and he couldn't make anything out.

" _Don't give in_ ," said a voice.

Hiccup looked up and saw a bright light exiting from his deck. He didn't know who it was, but the voice sounded familiar and friendly. The light flew around lighting up the entire basement.

" _Who are you?_ " Hiccup asked.

" _I'm a friend and I've always been with you even if you couldn't see me_ ," said the voice. " _But that does not matter right now. What does is that you cannot be fooled by this fraud._ '

" _What do you mean?_ " Hiccup asked puzzled.

" _You're smart a boy I'm sure you can figure it out_ ," said the voice.

Hiccup frowned as the light flew around in a hypnotic way. He then saw that his limbs were intact as was Titan's. Then his eyes widened she understood what the voice was talking about. ' _Wait, that's it! We're not playing the Shadows, he's playing with my mind_.'

* * *

Hiccup then opened his eyes and got to his feet. "Well, no more. I've got this Shadow Game scam all figured out," he said.

Ragnar and Fishlegs looked at each other confused.

"Did he say Shadow Game scam?" said Ragnar.

"What he mean?" Fishlegs asked.

"I mean my soul is not on the serving plate anymore," said Hiccup. Ragnar and Fishlegs looked at one another confused as Hiccup to his next card. "Let's keep going. My turn!"

Titan just stared at Hiccup horrified. ' _What's happening? Why isn't he scared anymore?_ '

Suddenly flames began to cover Torch. "I activate Torch's special ability. During my Standby Phase I get the privilege of destroying one Spell or Trap card on the field and then the owner back card takes 500 points of damage. I'll give you a guess which one I'm going to destroy and it starts with that Pandemonium. Go, Typhoon Blaze!"

Then the flames around Torch spun around like a spear and headed straight towards Titan.

"Uh-oh," he said before he got hit by the typhoon.

He yelled in pain as his Pandemonium Field Spell began to crumble.

Titan: 2600

Hiccup: 900

"So what? You still haven't destroyed this," said Titian holding out his Millennium Item which began to glow.

"You ought to be careful what you wish for, you might just get it!" said Hiccup. He then whipped out a Twin Swordsman card and chucked it at his 'Millennium' Item at fast speeds, breaking it. Once it shattered, Hiccup's and Titan's bodies returned.

"What did you do?" Titan exclaimed.

"Hiccup! You got your body back!" Fishlegs happily exclaimed.

"I never lost it. This whole Shadow Game was nothing more than a big fake. It was all just hypnosis a whole lot of smoke and mirrors to make me think," Hiccup explained. "This guy is a complete sham. I mean he's probably an out of work carney."

"I'm not out of work. I can get my work back from the Fair any time I want," said Titan backing away slowly.

"Hey, I'm sure you could and I'm sure that papier-mâché Millennium Item goes really with the kiddies," Hiccup smirked.

"No! Be quiet its real, I'm real."

"Your sideshow phony."

"You fool, you forget," Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "The girl."

"Astrid," said Ragnar.

"That's right. Imprisoned in a Shadow Tomb. Her soul is festering in the dark recesses of the netherworld that proves this Millennium Pendant is real," said Titan triumphantly. "What you have to say of that?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Besides you're a big idiot dunce." Titan just stared at him. "You see all the firstly: that item you've got is called the Millennium Puzzle not Pendant and for the record the designs all wrong. Second: all the Millennium Items were sealed back into the stone tablet in Egypt 10 years ago. Besides, if it was real it would have broken so easily."

"Wow, I didn't know Hiccup was interested in this sort of thing," said Fishlegs.

"It's over Titan!" He jabbed a finger in his direction. "Now hand over Astrid and all the other kids you've snatched."

Titan frowned. "Other kids? I don't know what you're talking about and because of your early carney comment you can find your friend by yourself!" He yelled as he dropped a smoke grenade.

"No way!" Hiccup bolted head on through the thick smoke, "You're not getting away that easy, get back here!"

Hiccup and Titan watched as about a dozen beams of light appeared from all directions and merged together in the middle of the floor, right between them. It pierced through the smoke of Titan's smoke bomb and formed a huge glowing eye in the floor.

"This can't be good," said Hiccup.

All of a sudden, a wind picked up, swirling the smoke around them like a dark tornado from the heavens. Hiccup watched the twister surround them, wind blowing hard like nothing he had seen before.

Ragnar and Fishlegs watch helplessly as a dark sphere surrounded both Hiccup and Titan.

* * *

Hiccup and Titan were seeing a void of endless darkness and both of them were freaking out!

"I don't suppose by any chance this was you're doing?" Hiccup asked hopefully

Titan shook his head. "What is this place?!" Titan demanded, fear filling his voice. "Where am I?!"

"My guess we're in the real Shadow Realm," said Hiccup.

A shriek made the two of them turn to see a large mass of black blobs coming at them. Hiccup stared. "What in the world…?"

Titan, however, was unfortunate. He was soon assaulted by the blobs as they began to cover every inch of his body. "Hiccup! Help me! Get these things off of m—" His cry for help was cut off as a blob launched itself into his mouth, muffling his scream.

Hiccup was about to step forward, when he noticed that he had his own group of black blobs were surrounding him. "What the…" He couldn't move to the sides, or backward to avoid them and they were closing in around him fast.

Then suddenly the same light from earlier exited from his deck and took the form of Toothless.

"Leave the boy alone," he commanded scaring the blobs away.

Hiccup just stared. "Toothless?"

Toothless smile. "Hello, Hiccup."

Hiccup just studied him in disbelief. "But—how?"

"A question for another time," said Toothless turning his attention upon Titan. "I fear we have other problems."

Hiccup watched in horror and disgust as a dark blobs entered into Titan through his mouth.

"Too bad he doesn't have a friend like you," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup Haddock…"

Hiccup looked up as he heard his names. Titan was no longer covered by the mass of slimy blobs, but he wasn't like they were before. His voices were more sinister and his eyes were glowing bright red behind his mask.

"The Shadows pang for a soul… only one shall survive…" said Titan.

"I don't suppose is another way out of this?" Hiccup asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not, if we wish to leave you need to defeat Titan," said Toothless.

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

Titan raised his duel disk and the army of blobs formed a large circle around them, making sure this duel finishes. "The duel will continue here in the Shadow Realm!"

Suddenly all their cards appeared on the field monsters and facedown. It looked as if Hiccup had no choice, but to continue with the duel and hope that he still had the cards he needed to win this.

"It still might turn and I'll summon my Dragon Knight Hookfang in defence mode," said Hiccup and Hookfang appeared in front of Hiccup. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000).

"Very well, it's my turn," said Titan as he took the card.

"Hold-up, without your Pandemonium Field Spell in play you have to pay 500 life points in order to keep your Archfiend on the field."

Dark smoke exited from Titan's mouth.

Titan: 2100

Hiccup: 900

"500 life points is nothing compared to a soul," said Titan. "Now I play the Desrook Archfiend in attack mode." Suddenly what looked like a skeleton octopus appeared on his field. (ATK: 1100/ DEF: 1800). "Now Skull Archfiend attack!"

Hiccup watched helplessly as Torch was destroyed. "He's certainly not messing around."

"Just and strong," said Toothless.

"How can he win his last defending monsters destroyed, because I'm attacking with Desrook Archfiend," said Titan as Desrook move towards Hookfang.

"Not so fast, I activate my facedown card. Dragon Knight Spirit!" said Hiccup as his facedown revealed itself to be a Trap Card with an image of Dragon Knight Toothless shielding Dragon Knight Stormfly from an attack. "Since you destroyed a Dragon Knight monster this card protects Hookfang from being destroyed."

Desrook waived its bone like tentacles that Hookfang, but the spirit of Torch shielded him.

"You survived this without, the next round you won't be so lucky," said Titan. "I place one facedown card and end my turn."

"Because you don't make any mistakes," said Toothless.

"Don't worry I don't," said Hiccup as he drew his next card. ' _Great with this card I can both attack and defence at the same time_.' He then turned his attention on Titan. "Okay first thing's first I'll switch my Hookfang to attack mode. Now attack his Desrook Archfiend with Blazing Mace." Hookfang then charged towards Desrook. "Oh, and by the way he gains for attack point when he battled against the monster." (ATK: 1600-2000)

Hookfang slammed his Mace right on top of Desrook sending a shockwave to Titan.

Titan: 1200

Hiccup: 900

"You made a foolish move," said Titan. "With your monster now in attack mode all I have to do is attack it and you'll lose."

"Not until I play my Block Attack card," said Hiccup. "Thanks to this I can switch one monster from attacking to defending and I'll use it on Hookfang."

Titan snarled. "Coward. First you have your knight attack my life points and then you had switch to protect your own, but it matters not. Nothing can protect you from this the Trap Card Battle Scarred!" Titan's facedown revealed itself as he drew a card. "Thanks to this the 500 life point but earn cost of my Skull Archfiend of Lightning effects not only me, but you too. As long as he remained out on the field."

Titan: 700

Hiccup: 400

Hiccup felt as if his life was restraining from his body. "This is bad. I won't be able to last another turn."

"Do not give up yet," said Toothless.

"Don't worry, bud. We still have Hookfang," said Hiccup.

"Wrong!" Titan yelled. "Skull Archfiend destroy that peon. Blast Stream of Fury!"

Hiccup watched as Skull Archfiend destroyed his last monster with a bolt of lightning.

"You have no monsters, no facedown and I doubt there's a card in your hand defeat by Skull Archfiend," said Titan. "Battle Scarred will take the last of your life points next turn. Then your soul will join the rest of the students I taken. In the Shadow Realm."

"Better make this turn count, because one way or another it's going to be my last," said Hiccup looking at his deck. "Here I go!"

Hiccup drew his card and looked at it. It was just the card he needed to win this duel. "Perfect. Okay, first I'll summon my Dragon Knight Windshear in attack mode."

Then a female warrior wearing shining silver dragon-like armour. Her mouth was the only piece of skin that was visible and she had long raven black hair that was cascading behind her back. On her wrists were two extended very sharp blades. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1200)

"She's too weak to do any real harm," said Titan.

"Oh, she can do plenty of harm all by herself, but I'll get to that later," said Hiccup as he played the card he just drew. It was a spell card of Lustre Dragon 2 sending a powerful gust of wind across a canyon. "But first activate my Dragon of the Wind spell card. I can only activate this card if I have a Dragon-Type Wind Attribute monster on my side. Now I have the power to switch one of your monsters modes."

"If my Skull Archfiend counter effect does not render your spell card useless that it," said Titan as a six or from earlier appeared. "If this roulette land on a 1, 3 or 6 your spell fails to activate."

"Ah, I've had bad luck with this thing," said Hiccup.

"It all comes down to this," said Toothless.

They watch as a flame circled around the roulette and select pause at one and for one frightening moment they thought that was it, but then it moved to a two.

"Two!" Titan gasped in horror.

Hiccup gave out a sigh of relief. "Finally, I win."

Then a powerful gust of wind emanated from his card and Skull Archfiend was forced into defence mode.

"It does not matter," said Titan. "Even if you destroy my Skull Archfiend I will still have life points remaining."

"Except Windshear has an ability of her own," said Hiccup smirking. "You see when she cuts through your defending monsters you take the differences damage."

"What?" Titan gasped in horror.

"Now Windshear show them how you got your name, Steel Slice!" said Hiccup.

Windshear nodded and rushed over straight towards Skull Archfiend. She sliced right through him and the explosion took out what was left of Titan's life points.

Titan: 0

Hiccup: 400 (Winner)

"NOOOO!" Titan screamed as he was once again, attacked by the horde of slime balls. He slowly began to sink into the floor and was nearly gone from sight when he began to fight back, head barely above the horde. "Help me!" he pleaded, "Get them off of me! Tell my kids... I love them…"

"What a terrible way to go," said Hiccup.

"Just before she knew it wasn't you," said Toothless. He then gestured over to a crack in the dome. "I think this is a perfect opportunity to make leave."

"I'm not going to argue with you there," said Hiccup.

* * *

Ragnar and Fishlegs were just staring at the dome and suddenly they saw Hiccup exiting out of a crack at its side.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs cheered as they ran towards him.

"Are you all right?" Ragnar asked.

"Never better, guys!" said Hiccup. He looked around for Toothless, but he had vanished.

"What happened in there?" Ragnar asked.

Before Hiccup could reply, the dome where the final part of the duels took place in started to implode on itself. The process caused a huge wind to kick up almost blowing the casket Astrid was in, but Hiccup was able to grab it just in time.

Hiccup sighed with relief. "That was too close."

"So, what happened?" Ragnar asked.

Hiccup looked at them. "You won't believe me if I told you."

* * *

Later on, Spitelout walked through the hallway of the Abandoned Dorm, coming into the cave. "Little Hiccup must be beaten and paralyzed with fear by now. Oh, Titan, where are you, my friend? I'd like to hear every detail, every chat…" Spitelout noticed a card on the ground and picked it up.

It was Pandemonium!

"It's Titan's Pandemonium card. He would never leave this behind unless… he lost! Hiccup Haddock has outwitted me again! But this isn't over yet, not by a long shot."

* * *

Hiccup and the others had emerge outside the dorm as the sun rose and placed Astrid against a tree and she began to stir.

"Well, good morning sleeping beauty," said Hiccup.

Normally Astrid would be annoyed by that comment, but right now she was confused. "Where am I?" She then looked at them and narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What kind of thank you is that," said Ragnar crossing his arms. "We here because we had to find the bad guy, win the duel and rescue the damsel in distress."

Astrid then remembered Titan grabbing her. "Yeah, that strange man grabbed me."

"That's right. We found your cards." Hiccup handed Astrid her Valkyrie Recruit card. "And look at what else we found…" Hiccup showed Astrid the photograph they obtained.

Astrid's eyes started to tear up. "It's… my brother!" she said. "This is the first trace of him I've seen in a long time."

"That's right, I brought it to let you know we wanna help find your brother, Astrid." Hiccup added. I know what it's like to lose a family member. I lost my mother about a year ago." Astrid stared at him. "She disappeared without a trace, but I know she still out there, because about a month ago a deck of cards appeared in the post. The Dragon Knight's, the card she had been developing and I want to help you find your brother."

"Besides, we can't have you locked in any more tombs," Ragnar added.

Astrid smiled. "Thank you Hiccup. Thank you for saving me."

Hiccup grinned. "It was nothing." Other than almost losing his soul in a Shadow Duel.

Hiccup then noticed the sun appearing over the trees. "Uh-oh, suns up. We better get bad before they noticed that were gone."

"Bye Astrid!" Fishlegs called.

"See you around," said Ragnar.

Astrid watched as they ran back to their dorm and then she turned to the picture of her brother. ' _Hiccup saved me and I might be able to save my brother too. I can't thank him enough._ '

* * *

Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman

ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1800

6 Stars

DARK

Warrior/ Fusion/ Effect

Dragon Knight Barf + Dragon Knight Blech

This monster cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card is considered a Dragon Type when on the Field or in the Graveyard. This card is allowed to attack a second time once per turn.

Dragon Knight Torch

ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1300

4 Stars

FIRE

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon Type while on the Field or in the Graveyard. When this card is face-up on the field during your Standby Phase you can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field and deal 500 point of damage to the owner of that card.

Dragon Knight Windshear

ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1200

4 Stars

WIND

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon Type while on the Field or in the Graveyard. This card can inflict piercing damage.

Dragon of the Wind

Spell Card

You can only activate this card you ever face-up Wind Attribute Dragon Type. You can change the battle position of one card on your opponent's side of the field.

Card image: Lustre Dragon 2 sending a powerful gust of wind across a canyon.

Dragon Knight Spirit

Trap Card

During the battle phase, if a "Dragon Knight" monster you controlled was destroyed by battle this turn: One monster on your field can't be destroyed in battle and you take 0 damage.

Card image: Dragon Knight Toothless shielding Dragon Knight Stormfly from an attack.


	8. Duel and Unusual Punishment

Among the early morning, the sun wasn't up yet; but someone was: Wolflegs Ingerman, the highest ranking student at Duel Academy and the older brother to Hiccup and Ragnar's friend Fishlegs Truesdale. He was standing alone near the lighthouse, just staring at the sea. Later, he was joined by someone who happened to see him.

"Wolflegs?" The top Obelisk never turned to the source, but recognized it as Astrid Hofferson with their friend Heather Valha. Wolflegs didn't have to look to know. Those two were always together. "What are you doing out here?"

"Nothing. Just felt like being alone." He replied in a neutral voice.

"You're always alone," Heather commented, Wolflegs shrugging it off.

Astrid stood next to him. "You know, with your little brother enrolled here, I thought you'd be less alone, not more," she said.

"Yeah," Heather agreed. "What's up with that?"

"Well, that's because he doesn't belong here." He stated bluntly, causing both Obelisk girls to stare at him wide eyed.

Like before, Zane shrugged it all off; something he had gotten good at during his life to mask his feelings. He liked being alone, and Fishlegs being here only served to remind him about many things he wanted, and needed, to hide from.

* * *

It was early morning when a truck filled with soldiers pulled up to the Slifer dorm. Gobber exited his room, looking exhausted. "Who's playing war at this time of day?" He grumbled. "How about a nice quiet game of charades?" He looked up to see the soldiers rapidly ascending the steps. "Oh no, it's the Disciplinary Action Squad! They only show up when a student is in serious trouble, and they're heading straight for Jaden's room!"

Inside the room in question, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were snoozing away mainly because it was a free day.

Then they were woken up by a forceful knock on the door. Hiccup woke up with the start.

"Open this door right now or we will break it open!"

Hiccup rub the sleepiness out of his eyes as he got out of bed. Yawning, he walked over towards the door, "Oh really, you and what army?"

"The Disciplinary Action Squad Army!"

He opened the door and was surprised to see a large group of people in dark uniforms standing outside his dorm room.

The woman looked him over, "You must be Hiccup Haddock…"

"Uh… yeah… so what's going on?"

Ignoring the question, she looked over his shoulder to see Fishlegs standing behind. "And that must be Fishlegs."

Ragnar got out of bed made his way over to her. "Would you mind telling us who you guys are, and why are you here?"

The woman looked down at him. "As I said, we are the Disciplinary Action Squad and your two friends are under campus arrest!"

"Arrest?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow while Fishlegs stared in shock and confusion. "What did we do?"

"That will be made clear to you at the interrogation," she informed them, "Now get dressed!"

* * *

The two Slifers were now standing in a large, circular room with about five or six giant TV screens, each one with a different person on them. Three of them they knew well: Doctor Spitelout, Chancellor Stoick, and the woman from the D.A.S. Not only did they know why there were they… they found out what was going to happen because of it.

"Suspension?!" said Hiccup and Fishlegs in unison.

"That's what I suggest," the D.A.S. woman replied, "You two have trespassed into the Abandoned Dorm in the woods, which is strictly forbidden, and we have received an anonymous letter from a faculty member that they saw you enter and leave the premises. You two must be punished to make an example for all the students!"

"But what kind of an example are we setting, that we are a bunch of hard-hearted tyrants?" Spitelout jumped in. "I say that we arrange something more sporting…"

"Sporting?" Hiccup looked at Spitelout's monitor. "What do ya mean?"

"Well Hiccup… Off the top of my head, how about you and Fishlegs team up and play a tag-duel?" Spitelout suggested, "Win and you go free… lose, and you both are expelled?"

"A tag-duel?" said Hiccup. "I suppose as no other option."

Fishlegs stared at him. "But H-Hiccup he said expelled."

"Chancellor, what do you say? I believe they have accepted the conditions…" Spitelout asked Stoick.

Stoick nodded. "Very well… I'll arrange some opponents immediately."

"Oh now, Chancellor." Spitelout cut him off, looking back at Hiccup and Fishlegs. "Don't worry fret about that! I'll take care of all the particulars for the event."

"You'll have a week to prepare." The Chancellor declared.

Stoick was the two boys walking away. He bowed his head almost ashamedly at having to put them in a predicament like they were in, but couldn't let them off free just because Hiccup was his son. Rules were rules… although he sometimes wished that there weren't any when it came to stuff like this.

* * *

Later on, Ragnar went to the Chancellor's office after hearing about the conditions Hiccup and Fishlegs were placed in after their little outing to the Abandoned Dorm.

"You wanted to see me Ragnar?" Stoick asked.

Ragnar nodded. "I came here to tell you that it was my idea to go to the Abandoned Dorm and both Hiccup and Fishlegs were quite adamant of going!" Ragnar started. "If anyone should duel it should be me."

"No, it should be me," said a voice and Ragnar turned to find Astrid had just entered into the office with Heather behind her. Astrid made her way over to Stoick's desk. "Listen, they were at the dorm helping me."

"No matter which way you put it both Hiccup and Fishlegs are innocent in this," said Ragnar.

"Please, Chancellor, Hiccup is your son can't you just bend the rules to allow one of us to be his tag partner instead of Fishlegs?" Astrid asked.

Stoick felt really bad about having to deny the request. If it were up to him alone, he would let the little incident slide, but the decision was already finalized and approved and even if he were to try and fix it, it would look as if he was playing favour because his son was involved.

"I'm really sorry, but team up has been set…" he said in a soft, sad, and regretful tone as he folded his hands under his chin. "Fishlegs is Hiccup's duelling partner and there's nothing I can do about it."

The three students looked sad as they failed to help out their friends.

* * *

Ragnar soon return to the Slifer dorm and was almost tackled by Fishlegs. "So, to say yes?" Fishlegs begged. "Oh, please tell me he said yes. If I'm Hiccup's partner I'll get us both expelled."

"I'm afraid not even Astrid tried," said Ragnar.

"I'm sure we'll do fine," said Hiccup.

"Why aren't you worried Hiccup? Aren't you afraid that I'm going to get is kicked out?" said Fishlegs.

"Legs, listen to me we're going to do fine and will gonna do that by working out all of our kinks right now," said Hiccup grabbing his deck. "So you better grab your deck, because we gonna duel."

* * *

Ragnar was looking down at Hiccup and Fishlegs, who down at the bottom of the cliff as they repaired their practice duel.

"I hope this works," said Ragnar.

"So do I," said a voice. Ragnar turned and found Astrid and Heather approaching him.

"You're worried about Spitelout, aren't you?" said Ragnar.

"Yeah, the three of us know that he's not gonna match them up with a couple of pushovers. Both Hiccup and Fishlegs are going to need to be at their very best," said Astrid.

"No doubt Spitelout only arrange this tag duel just humiliate the two of them," said Heather.

"I wouldn't be surprised that he was the one that inform the Disciplinary Squad that we trust passed into the Abandoned Dorm," said Ragnar.

The girls nodded and the three of them looked down at the duel that was going on below them.

"Okay, Fishlegs let's do this," said Hiccup activating his Duel Disk. "And let's have some fun."

"Fun? Guess we might as well squeeze some in before we get kicked out of here," Fishlegs muttered.

"What was that?" Hiccup asked.

Fishlegs didn't realise he was speaking out loud. "Oh—uh, nothing."

"Then let's duel."

"Yeah, yeah, let's duel," Fishlegs murmured activating his Duel Disk.

Fishlegs: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

"I'll go first," said Hiccup as he drew his card. He looked at his hand and nodded. "I summon Dragon Knight Scaldy in attack mode!"

Suddenly they saw a warrior wearing aqua green dragon-like armour appeared on the field. His armour looked as if it was best suited for been out on the sea rather than on land or in the air. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000)

"He has a special ability that allows me to draw two card so long as he is the only card on my side of the field," said Hiccup and he drew two extra cards from his deck. "And I'll finish my turnoff by placing one card face down on the field."

"All right, let's see," said Fishlegs as he drew his card. He looked at his hand and saw that he drew his Patroid. "My Patroid can defeat Hiccup's Scaldy."

"Draw good card?" Hiccup yelled.

Fishlegs suddenly got very nervous. "Yeah, I think so. Patroid attack mode!"

Suddenly a police car with arms and legs appeared in front of Fishlegs. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1200)

"Go! Siren Smasher!" Fishlegs yelled.

Patroid charge straight towards Scaldy with his siren going off.

"Not so fast! I've got a Trap Card: Dragon Defender!" Hiccup yelled within his face down. "This can't protect my monster from destruction, but I'll still take the damage for my life points."

Hiccup braced himself as Patroid slammed into Scaldy, who was not backwards.

Fishlegs: 4000

Hiccup: 3600

"I should run only would place a Trap," said Fishlegs.

"This doesn't bode well," said Ragnar.

"No kidding, they won't stand a chance in the tag match if Fishlegs plays like this," said Astrid.

"I'm afraid it's worse," said Heather pointing down.

They looked down and saw that Fishlegs was drawing something in the dirt. "Oh boy, don't you think dirt is just the coolest, Hiccup?"

"And I thought I had a confidence problem," Hiccup murmured. "Legs, don't crack up yet. You just made one mistake that all."

"Yeah, coming to the school," said Fishlegs getting to his feet.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, you just forgot to use Patroid's special ability. He let you check one of your opponent's facedown cards once per turn. You could have seen my trap."

"Yeah, I know I'm no good. I don't belong here."

"Wow, slow down there. I didn't mean anything like that."

Fishlegs looked at him ashamed. "I-I know you didn't Hiccup. I know you were just trying to help, but that—"

"Legs, you're not the only person that confidence problems. I had to do the same sort of thing myself let me tell your kept on losing big time, but I learned from those mistakes I pushed forwards." Hiccup than looked at him seriously. "The only way you will learn it if we carry on with our duel."

Hiccup then drew his card. ' _Okay, Fishlegs is about to get burnt_.' He then grabbed one of his cards. "I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang in attack mode." Hookfang then reappeared right beside of Scaldy. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000). "And now I'll have him attack your Patroid and let's not forget against 400 attack points when he battled against the monster."

Flames covered Hookfang as he swung his mace at Patroid. (ATK: 1600-2000). Patroid exploded on impact with the mace.

Fishlegs: 3200

Hiccup: 3600

"And now Scaldy attack, Legs. Scald Water Blast!" Hiccup commanded.

Scaldy then fired a stream of boiling hot water straight at Fishlegs, who came out of its steaming.

Fishlegs: 2400

Hiccup: 3600

"And I'll finish my turnoff with one facedown," said Hiccup as a facedown appeared on his side of the field.

Fishlegs looked at him. "Can I crack up now? I just got nailed on both of our turns. I can't win."

"Of course you can win, Fishlegs! You just have to believe in yourself!" Astrid called.

"You can't just give up at the first hurdle!" Heather yelled.

"Fishlegs don't forget the tag team duel won't only affect your future but Hiccup's as well. For his sake you can't give up, you just have to get back onto your feet and duel you're hardest," said Ragnar.

"Their right, I can't give up the match so soon. Especially since I'm not duelling for myself, but for Hiccup as well," Fishlegs then got back onto his feet. "And the best thing I can do for him right now would be to take him down."

"Come on, Legs you can do this!" Astrid yelled.

"We believe in you!" Heather yelled.

Ragnar smiled. "Looks like he got his confidence back."

"You know, Rag, you're very good with words of encouragement," said Heather.

Ragnar shrugged. "I try."

"Anyway, at least Fishlegs is playing in the duel now instead of the dirt," said Astrid.

"The question is how he's going to play," said Ragnar.

"All right," said Fishlegs he drew his card and looked through his hand. ' _I don't have a monster to take on Hiccup right now. So, I'll have to use a different strategy._ ' He then turned and faced Hiccup. "I activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed. Thanks to this I could draw two extra cards from my deck."

Fishlegs drew his two cards and looked at them and wanted eyes widened. ' _Power Bond!_ '

Hiccup blinked. He had just seen Fishlegs expression when he drew his cards. ' _Judging by the look on Fishlegs' face he must have drawn a very good card_ ,' he thought.

Fishlegs looked at Power Bond. ' _Power Bond is like Polymerization, but better. Whatever Machine Type fusion monster I summon its attack points are doubled_.' He then sighed. ' _Oh well, I'm not good enough to play a card this strong at least according to my brother._ '

* * *

He then remembered that horrible memory about five years ago.

' _I never forget that day_ ,' he thought. ' _It was back in grade school and I was duelling this really mean bully. It was my big chance to stand up to him, to show him I couldn't be pushed around_.'

Fishlegs: 1600

Bully: 1900

Fishlegs had his Streamroid and Gyroid on his side of the field in attack mode and the bully had one face down and Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode on his side.

"All right, you're going down," said Fishlegs drawing his card. He looked at it and saw that he drew Power Bond. ' _Awesome, the car my brother gave me. I'll win for sure now_.'

"Quit your stalling you little pipsqueak you know you're going to lose so let's just get it over with," said the bully.

"Yeah, that's what you think, but you're wrong," said Fishlegs. "This duel is mine."

"Yeah right, the only thing that only going to be yours is a severe butt kicking."

Fishlegs laughed. "Sorry, but I'm done being scared of all your nasty threats." The two of them glared at one another. "Do you hear that? I'm not afraid of you anymore. You know why? Because I'm going to be the one that's going to take you down!"

He was about to play his Power Bond but then a voice yelled. "Stop!"

Fishlegs tripped over his own feet. "Yeah, who said that?" He gasped as his older brother, Wolflegs walked past and approached the bully. "Wolf?"

He then pulled out a card and gave it to the bully. "This duel never happened, got it? Just take this and walk away."

The bully took the card. "Nice card, you've got yourself a deal."

"What are you doing, Wolf?" Fishlegs yelled as the boy walked away. "I was about to win this duel with the card you gave me."

Wolflegs didn't look at him. "No, Fishlegs, you weren't." Fishlegs stared at him confused. "And I would never have given you that card had I known you would miss playing at like you are about to."

"Miss play? I was not!"

"You were! This was the facedown card your opponent had out on the field, Fishlegs," said Wolflegs. He then showed in the card without turning around. It was Spellbinding Circle.

Fishlegs gasped. "Spellbinding Circle?"

"That's right, a very powerful Trap Card and when it sprung the monster that it ensnares can either attack or change its battle mode. So you would have summoned your fusion monster with Power Bond and its attack points would have doubled, but then spellbinding circle would have prevented you from attacking with him. And then you would have been left taking a hit from your life points at the end of your turn for having used Power Bond."

Fishlegs felt his confidence dropping, he would have lost of his brother had intervened.

"You weren't thinking, Fishlegs. You didn't take to account the facedown card and you didn't take to account Power Bond side-effect. Sure you may know how to use the card, but there's more to duelling than simply that."

Fishlegs then fell to his knees and it was at that point he reached his lowest he had totally lost his confidence in duelling. Ever since then he never been able to win a single duel.

* * *

Back in the present, Fishlegs looked at Power Bond with fear. ' _Just holding this card again gives me the chills and what did you mean about knowing how to use a card wasn't enough?_ '

He's been standing there for about five minutes which was making Hiccup very concerned. ' _He sure is struggling with his move_ ,' he thought. He then called over to Fishlegs. "Hey, you all right there Fishlegs?"

That brought Fishlegs out of his thought, but instead of using Power Bond he used the Polymerization he drew as well. "I'm going to use Polymerization and user diffuse together the Gyroid and Streamroid that I had in my hand to create the Steam Gyroid!"

Then a helicopter and a steam train that have similar features of his Patroid appeared in front of him and then began to fuse together. Then a new monster that was a combination of a helicopter and a steam train appeared in front of Fishlegs. (ATK: 2200/ DEF: 1600)

"All right, Steam Gyroid it's time to go locomotive!" Fishlegs yelled. "Attack! Train Twister!"

Steam Gyroid then spun its propellers creating a massive tornado which was a combination of wind and steam. It then slammed into Scaldy making him cough and splutter. Scaldy then look into the twister and found Steam Gyroid steaming towards him and was sliced to pieces by the propellers.

The impact pushed Hiccup back and the actually fell to his knees.

Fishlegs: 2400

Hiccup: 2000

"All right!" Fishlegs yelled triumphantly. "Had enough practice?"

Hiccup then got to his feet. "What it's all about that I had enough? Legs, you know the old saying no pain no gain and with what I've got planned you stand to get a lot. Listen Fishlegs you may be my friend, but now rivals."

Hiccup then drew his card and it was the car that Fishlegs just played. "And I got the car to treat you like one. So you best brace yourself, because I activate my Polymerization and our fuse together my Dragon Knight's Bard and Belch." Then his two Dragon Knight appeared on the field and just like Fishlegs' monsters they began to fuse together. "I now summon the Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman."

The watch is a powerful gust of wind spread across the field and wanted dispelled Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman stood there awaiting for battle. (ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1800)

"Guess that it," said Ragnar.

The two girls looked at him. "What you mean?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, even if that swordsman destroys Fishlegs' monster he would still have life points," Heather pointed out.

"Accept the Twin Swordsman special that it allows him to attacks per turn," said Ragnar.

The two girls eyes widened as they looked at the knight Hiccup summoned.

"It seems practices is getting out early for Fishlegs," said Astrid.

"Okay, Twin Swordsman attack his Steam Gyroid with Twin Dragon Sword Slash!" Hiccup commanded.

Fishlegs watched helplessly as Twin Swordsman rush straight towards Steam Gyroid and slashed right through him standing behind him. Steam Gyroid then split into was destroyed.

Fishlegs: 2200

Hiccup: 2000

"Ah, man that leaves me defenceless," said Fishlegs.

"It gets worse, because Twin Swordsman special ability allows a second attack per turn," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs watched in fear as Twin Swordsman raised his second sword and slashed right through his life points.

Fishlegs: 0 (Winner)

Hiccup: 2000

Fishlegs landed flat on the dirt.

"Guess that's it and you didn't do too badly," said Hiccup as the holograms disappeared.

"I don't know about that," said Fishlegs. "I didn't put too much of a fight, Hiccup."

"What are you talking about? Sure I was able to pull it out of the end, but you made some good moves you are to be proud," said Hiccup making his way over to Fishlegs.

"Yeah," Fishlegs murmured.

"Although, I've got it am curious about something," Hiccup admitted. "What was that one card you drew, but didn't play? You looked so excited."

Before Fishlegs could stop them, Hiccup took his cards and his eyes widened. "Power Bond?" He then stared at him in disbelief. "Why did you use it? You would have doubled Steam Gyroid's attack points. I wouldn't be able to take it down."

"You don't understand," said Fishlegs getting to his feet. "My bro says I'm not good enough to use and I'll probably never be." He then took his cards from Hiccup. "And it's clear you'll never be able to win the tag team duel if I'm your partner."

He then ran off before Hiccup could stop them.

Ragnar looked at the two girls. "I'll go after him."

"I'll come with," said Heather.

Astrid watched as the two of them ran after Fishlegs and she looked down at Hiccup, who was puzzled about what just happened.

* * *

Astrid soon joined him at the bottom of the cliff. "I guess practice doesn't always make perfect. Huh, Hiccup… at least not when it's for Fishlegs it seems."

"I don't get it, he's an all right guy. I just wish he sees what I see that the only thing that's holding him back is himself," said Hiccup he then looked at her. "I mean he had this powerful card all set up to play, but he doesn't use it. And why? Because some brother of his told him not to."

Astrid's eyes widened and it didn't go unnoticed by Hiccup. "Wait, you know him don't you."

Astrid nodded. "That brother Piers goes to this school and you probably heard of him to. His name is Wolflegs."

Hiccup eyes widened. "My father mentioned him, isn't he a third-year Obelisk Blue and the best student in the Academy?"

"Yeah, that's him and as far as I know he's never lost a duel."

"Well, he may be good to his cards, but is not so good with his little brother," Hiccup then looked at the sea. "I wonder what happened between the two of them."

"Hiccup, don't pry."

"Don't you see I have to, because if Fishlegs is another top of his game will both be kicked out? And I will do whatever it takes to get Fishlegs his confidence back. Even if that means duelling him."

Astrid looked into his eyes and can help blush. ' _I've never seen someone this intensity before and judging by the look in his eyes he is not going to back down._ ' She then smiled at him. "You go get him, Hiccup."

Hiccup then turned back and looked at the sea. "Don't worry, I will."

* * *

Dragon Knight Scaldy

ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000

3 Stars

WATER

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon Type while on Field or in the Graveyard. If this card was summoned and you don't have any other cards on your field draw 2 cards from your deck.


	9. For the Sake of Fishlegs

"I can't believe this Wolflegs guy…" Hiccup mumbled as he sat down at a table in the card shop the next day, writing on a form paper. "I mean it's no wonder Fishlegs' has zero confidence. If my big brother told me I wasn't good enough to use some card I'd be insecure to. Well, that's all about to change." He then turned his attention back on the request form. "Boy, these Duel Request forms are a drag…"

Hiccup was too busy filling out the form, that he didn't notice Spitelout creeping up behind him.

"Duel Request form?" Spitelout reached over Hiccup's shoulder and swiped the form away, scanning it. "Planning a duel eh? Against who?" His eyes bugged out and he smirked. "You must be joking…"

Hiccup reached out, wanting to take back his form. "No actually I'm not. I'm take Wolflegs on in a duel to boost Fishlegs' confidence. So he'll be ready for our upcoming tag match."

"Ah yes, of course… the big tag team match the one where you lose you'll both be expelled from the Academy am I right?" said Spitelout. "And you say duelling Wolflegs on will help you prepare. Well, that's a shame, because there will be no duel."

Hiccup wasn't surprised to see that Spitelout decided to rip up the Duel Request form to bits and laughing as he did so.

* * *

Hiccup and Ragnar walking through the forest as Hiccup explained the situation with Spitelout.

"And then he said the Duel Request form had to be filled out in triplicate and with the number eight pencil," he said.

"I have to admit am not surprised. Spitelout will do everything has power to make sure you fail and the rumour is he's hired pros for the two of you to duel against," said Ragnar.

"If I can just duel Wolflegs I might be able to get Fishlegs his confidence back," said Hiccup.

"You could always ask your father, I mean he is the chancellor."

"I don't like to ask him for favours."

"Well, if you don't you'll be kicked out."

* * *

They soon reached the Slifer dorm, but found that a big lump on Fishlegs' bed.

Hiccup sighed. "Legs, you're not still in bed are you? I know that you're down, but that's no excuse to act like some lazy slug."

The two of them then pull the sheets away, but found only a pillow and nothing else.

"Where did he go?" Hiccup asked.

"Look he's left a note," said Ragnar.

"What does it say?"

Ragnar looked at the node and read it out loud: " _Dear Hiccup, I am leaving Duel Academy, don't try and stop me it's for the best. I would only be holding you back if I stayed._ "

"Why doesn't that surprise me," said Hiccup rubbing his forehead.

"So are we going after him?" Ragnar asked.

"Of course we are."

The two boys ran out of the dorm and began their search for Fishlegs.

It was late in the evening and there was still no sign of Fishlegs.

"Oh where can he be," said Hiccup.

"He could be anywhere on the island and you might have already left," said Ragnar.

"Let's not think about that shall we," said Hiccup. "Fishlegs!"

"Come on, don't do this!" Ragnar yelled.

* * *

Fishlegs was at the edge of the sea with a makeshift raft, he was planning to set sail.

"So long, Duel Academy," he said.

* * *

Hiccup and Ragnar were not too far away still looking for him, but there was still no trace of him. Hiccup the notices deck glowing and saw Toothless appearing.

"Lost someone have we?" he said smiling.

"Yeah, a friend of mine," said Hiccup.

Ragnar paused and looked at Hiccup, who appear to be talking himself. Though he had a feeling that he was indeed talking to someone, but he had no idea who.

"I don't suppose you can help me find him," said Hiccup.

Toothless smiled. "Do you need to ask? Just follow me."

Hiccup watched as Toothless floated away and look toward Ragnar. "This way!"

"I'm right behind you," said Ragnar.

* * *

Wolflegs was at the pier he then noticed Astrid and Heather approaching him.

"So, any new leads?" he asked.

Astrid shook her head, "I can't believe he's still gone. I looked everywhere for a new sign, but I always come up empty-handed…"

Wolflegs folded his arm. "Don't worry about it, you'll find him, just don't give up."

"Speaking of brothers…" Astrid looked at Wolflegs. "We saw yours the other day."

"Oh did you now?"

"Yeah, he lost to a practice duel to Hiccup Haddock…" Heather explained. "Your name came up too… and not in a good way…"

"The big, bad, brother, huh?" Wolflegs didn't even blink at the news. "What? Does he want to scold me now?"

Astrid smiled a little bit. "Actually… he wants to duel you." She answered.

Wolflegs might've not looked it, but he was fairly interested in hearing that. Wolflegs was curious to duel Hiccup; who was building quite the reputation here already, having defeated Spitelout in and his son Snotlout at the exams. Sure he stood no chance against him, but he could be the refresher that he needed in entertainment.

"Stay back Hiccup!" Fishlegs' voice yelled.

They then saw Fishlegs on the nearby standing next to a raft.

"It's Fishlegs," Astrid gasped.

"And it looks like he's about to cast off," said Heather.

* * *

Fishlegs looked up just in time to see Hiccup emerging over the ridge. Then without thinking he jumped onto the raft and was about to set sail, but then with one massive leap Hiccup landed on the raft.

However, Fishlegs wasn't good when it came to making raft and it fell apart under their weight and the two of them landed in the sea. Hiccup was a strong swimmer because of his leg and what's worse Fishlegs didn't look like he knew how to swim.

"Help me! I can't swim!" Fishlegs yelled grabbing of Hiccup.

"And you are about to raft out into the ocean?" said Hiccup as he tried to use keep his head above the water. "That makes sense."

Then the two of them sank into the water.

"I'm coming!" Ragnar yelled jumping into the water. However he soon found that only his legs were in the water. "It's shallow."

He then saw Hiccup and Fishlegs emerge out of the water looking a bit wet, but otherwise unharmed.

"Why are you trying to stop me, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked looking at Hiccup. "I stink. Please just let me go. They'll assign you a new tag partner and you have a much better shot at winning the match."

"Legs, that your brother talking," said Ragnar.

"He's right, you've got to believe in yourself," said Hiccup.

"You guys gotta believe me!" Fishlegs yelled. "I'm a lost cause."

"He is right you know," said a voice. They looked up and found Wolflegs, Astrid and Heather looking down at them from the cliff.

"Wolflegs," said Fishlegs.

"So that's him," said Hiccup.

Wolflegs looked down at Fishlegs. "You dropping out?"

"Yeah… well, kind of," said Fishlegs.

"Well it's about time."

Fishlegs then fell into a slump as if he got punched in the gut.

Hiccup, however, didn't take his eyes off Wolflegs and looked Fishlegs. "He's wrong." He saw him breaking down into tears and turned his gaze upon Wolflegs again. "You're his big brother! How can you say that?"

"Because I know him," said Wolflegs simply.

"I bet you think you know it all, but guess what you don't," said Hiccup. "And I'm gonna prove it right here right now. Let's duel."

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup in shock. "No! Hiccup!"

Wolflegs looked down at Hiccup. "Duel a Slifer." He then shrugged. "Sure… why not? After all it's been a while since I went slumming."

"Then you better prepare yourself," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup, he's good," said Fishlegs.

"I know he is, because he was my father's apprentice," said Hiccup and everyone stared at him.

Wolflegs shrugged. "It's true, I learned all my duelling skills from Chancellor Stoick and I must admit I'm intrigued to see how much you there."

"Then let's do this," said Hiccup. ' _Hopefully this will fix Fishlegs' confidence problem without damaging mine._ '

* * *

It was late at night when he reached the pier and both Hiccup and Wolflegs had their Duel Disks set and ready.

"Let's duel!"

Hiccup: 4000

Wolflegs: 4000

"Ah, man my big brother taking on one of my best friends there's no way this can turn out good," Fishlegs cried.

"Okay, now will find out what's going on with Fishlegs and his brother," said Hiccup as he drew a card. "I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang in attack mode!" Hookfang appeared with his mace over his shoulder. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200) "Then I'm gonna place a facedown!" A reversed card appeared.

Wolflegs drew his card. "That's all huh? Okay. For my first move, I summon Cyber Dragon in Attack Mode!"

The Slifers watched in amazement as a metallic dragon rose from the ground and curled up behind its master. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600)

"Not a bad first move," said Hiccup.

"Indeed, because I can play the Cyber Dragon since it's my first turn. With no monsters of my own on the field, and one on yours, it requires no sacrifices. Now I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card."

Hiccup turned away as his facedown was blown away by a miniature tornado. "Thanks for that, because the card you destroyed was Dragon Knight Emblem which will allow me to grab a Dragon Knight and place in my hand and I think I'll go with…" Hiccup looked through his deck. "Dragon Knight Belch."

"Not a bad move, except that your Life Points are about to go down. Cyber Dragon, attack Hookfang with Strident Blast!" Wolflegs commanded.

The metallic dragon rose and let out a stream of fire, engulfing Hookfang completely.

Hiccup: 3500

Wolflegs: 4000

Fishlegs watched silently as his friend was already on the fast track to losing this duel. ' _I tried to warn him that Wolflegs was good_ …'

"Next…" Wolflegs held up a card. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Different Dimension Capsule!" He declared as a strange looking sarcophagus with a clock emblazoned in the centre appeared. "This allows me to take a card from my deck, place it into the capsule, and in two turns, add it to my hand."

Hiccup watched as the capsule opened up, letting the holo-card inside and closing before sinking beneath the ground. "Wow…" he said. "That's gotta be the best card of his entire deck."

'Yeah, and I have a feeling I know what it is…' Fishlegs thought miserably. 'And it's not gonna be pretty…'

"It's your move, Hiccup…" said Wolflegs.

' _I know and I better make this move count_.' Hiccup thought as he looked at Wolflegs and his metal dragon. ' _Because I'm starting to see that he might be as good as everyone says he is...maybe even better...but that's not gonna stop me!_ '

"Alright, Round Two!" Hiccup drew his next card, "First, I'm gonna use the Spell Card Polymerization and, fuse both Dragon Kinghts Barf and Belch and fuse them to create the Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman!"

The green and black Dragon Knight appeared on the field, letting out a mischievous smirk at the Cyber Dragon. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800)

"Now, I'm going to have attack your Cyber Dragon with Twin Dragon Sword Slash!" Hiccup yelled.

Twin Swordsman slashed one of his blades at Cyber Dragon, destroying it.

Hiccup: 3500

Wolflegs: 3700

"Yes!" Hiccup smiled as the dragon was blasted. "Looks like the big man on campus just got a little bit smaller, wouldn't you say?"

Ragnar nodded. "Yeah, I'd say that!"

"And the best part about that…" Hiccup smirked. "…is that his special ability allows him to attack two times per turn and this time is gonna make a move at your life points!"

Twin Swordsman then rushed over towards Wolflegs and raised his sword at him, hitting him dead on. However, Wolflegs didn't even move. He just stood there calmly as his Life Points went down a large deal.

Wolflegs: 1300

Hiccup: 3400

"You know you could at least flinch a little…" Hiccup muttered as he inserted a card into a slot. "Oh well… maybe this facedown card will get you later."

' _Yeah… if Hiccup lasts long enough to use his card_ …' Fishlegs thought, turning to his brother.

"Nice moves, kid," said Wolflegs as he drew. "You're certainly inherited your skills from your father. But you made a mistake," Hiccup stared confused. "Now that my field is empty again, I can bring out another Cyber Dragon…"

An identical metallic dragon appeared in front of Wolflegs, a distorted growl coming from within. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600)

"…or better yet, two!" Wolflegs held up a card. "I play the Spell Card, Monster Reborn! With just one monster in my Graveyard, you can guess who I'm bringing back!" He said as his disk glowed and his first Cyber Dragon was revived, standing next to his second one. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600)

"But neither one will be here for long…" Wolflegs took another card from his hand, Polymerization. "In present form anyway. Dragons, unite!" He commanded as both monsters swirled together into a black void, "Cyber-Twin Dragon, emerge!"

From the dark void, a new monster appeared. This had the heads of both Dragons, but the body of one, each head with a different circle of colour. One yellow, and one blue. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2100)

"Twin Dragon?!" Ragnar stared at the new creature in awe, "One was tough enough already!"

"Unlike your Twin Swordsman my Twin Dragon can attack twice in a round as well, Hiccup!" Wolflegs pointed to the Twin Swordsman. "Meaning double the trouble for your monster and your Life Points! Twin Dragon, attack!" He commanded. The dragon breathed out its attack, dismantling Hiccup's Knight.

Hiccup: 3100

Wolflegs: 1300

It was about to make a second attack on Hiccup, he pressed a button on his disk. "I reveal my Dragon Knight Reinforcements! This card allows me to look at the top card in my deck and if it's a monster I'm able to summon it." He drew his card and looked at it with a smile. "And the card I drew was Dragon Knight Druid!" Then appearing on the field was an elderly man with a staff in his hand. (ATK: 500/DEF: 1100)

"Nice save," Wolflegs complimented. "But its still not gonna stop my attack." The Twin Dragon continued and destroyed Hiccup's monster. "And now I can activate Druid special ability. You see when he destroyed I can take one Dragon Knight card for my Graveyard and placed in my hand." Then a card shot out of his graveyard and he revealed it to Wolflegs. "And the card I chooses Dragon Knight Hookfang and just when you could stop worrying about him."

"I never worry," said Wolflegs.

Hiccup smiled. "I gotta say I'm impressed. You certainly know how to keep your cool."

Wolflegs smiled. "You too, Hiccup."

Fishlegs stared at his brother. 'Wow, s _ince when does Wolflegs give props._ '

"He's holding in there," said Heather looking at Astrid.

"Let's just hope he can keep it up," said Astrid.

"Now it's my turn!" Hiccup drew a card. "I now summon Dragon Knight's Scaldy in attack mode." Then the aqua knight appeared in front of Hiccup. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000). "And city the only card I felt I how to draw two extra cards."

Hiccup drew his extra cards and suddenly felt a gust of wind and looked at them. ' _Toothless and Dive Bomb_ ," he thought looking at the two cards he drew. ' _The card I used to trash that Dragon Catapult Cannon. This would allow me to destroy all of Wolflegs' Cyber-Twin Dragon into a pile of cyber junk. Then it attack points will be dealt to him as damage that would be enough for me to win the game. The only problem is have already summoned this turn so have to wait until my next turn. I just have to make sure I survive._ '

"Okay, Wolfegs the first thing I'll do is activate my Fusion Recovery card which will allow me to take Barf and a Polymerization card into my hand. Next I'll use Polymerization and fuse together Scaldy and Dragon Knight Meatlug, who is in my hand in order to form…" Meatlug appeared alongside Scaldy and they began to fuse together. "Dragon Knight Defender in defence mode!"

Then a knight in murky brown dragon-like armour appeared on Hiccup's field. In her hand she held a massive shield that looked like it was totally unbreakable. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 3000)

"All right, Defender has 3000 defence points and her special ability mean she can't be destroyed in battle as long as he lowers her defence points by 500. Which means Wolflegs will be able to get anywhere near Hiccup's life points," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs stared at Hiccup stunned. ' _I don't believe it… Hiccup might actually win_."

"Gimme your best shot, Wolflegs!" Hiccup challenged.

"My best? Alright, you got it." Wolflegs drew his card and watched as the Capsule rose from the dirt, chunks rolling off it.

' _Oh no_ …' Fishlegs knew what this meant.

"It's been two turns since I first activated Different Dimension Capsule, and now I can take the card I put in it and add it to my hand." Wolflegs placed the card in his hand and looked straight at Hiccup. "You played well… but not well enough…"

"Hey, just gimme what you got, Wolf, I'm ready for it!" said Hiccup, still ready for the next move.

"…I'm sure you are, Hiccup. A good duellist is ready for anything. Even knowing the difference of using a card and playing a card can make the difference in a duel," said Wolflegs as he glanced at Fishlegs briefly, then back at Hiccup, bowing his head slightly. "… and you play your cards well, Hiccup."

Fishlegs' eyes widened. ' _Knowing how to play your cards?_ '

Hiccup smiled. ' _That's a nice complement, but even better advice. Hope Legs is listening?_ '

' _Of course, knowing how to use a card and knowing how to play it are two totally different things. That's what Wolf was trying to tell me all those years ago… I get it now._ '

Wolflegs then continued on with his move. "First, I'll play this De-Fusion card and split up my Cyber Twin Dragon into two separate Cyber Dragons." Wolflegs paused as his monsters divided itself into its original forms. "Next, I activate the magic of the Spell Card, Power-Bond!"

He inserted the card into his disk. "This card allows me to summon a Machine-Type Fusion monster, and with the final Cyber Dragon in my hand, I can fuse them together to create… the Cyber End Dragon!"

The spectators watched in amazement as through a torrent of blue flame, the winged dragon appeared, three heads sticking out of the same body. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Whoa!" Heather shouted. "There it is… Wolf's best monster!"

Ignoring the shouts, Wolflegs continued his turn. "Thanks to Power-Bonds ability, when I summon a Fusion Machine-Type monster, its Attack Points are doubled!" (ATK: 4000-8000)

"8000 points?!" Ragnar gasped. "No way!"

"That's enough for Wolf to win the duel…" Astrid gasped.

"And keep in mind, Hiccup, when Cyber Dragon attacks, the difference between his Attack Points and your monsters Defence Points are dealt to you as damage!"

Hiccup's eyes widened and he made a lopsided frown. "Oh boy…"

"Just hang in there, Hiccup!" Ragnar yelled. "If you can survive the attack, you can win this duel for sure thanks to his Spell Cards effect!"

Astrid nodded. "That's right. At the end of the turn Power-Bond is used, the one who used the card gets dealt damage equal to the attacking monsters original Attack Points!"

' _Yeah… but that won't matter if you play it right_.' Fishlegs thought, hearing his friends. ' _And Wolflegs has! I just wish it wasn't at Hiccup's expense…_ '

Toothless appeared at Hiccup's side. "There's no way you can survive this," he said.

"That's not helping," Hiccup muttered.

"Cyber End Dragon, attack Defender! Super Strident Blaze!" Wolflegs roared, waving his arm.

Hiccup could only watch as his Knight was obliterated in a giant blast right before the leftover damage came right at him, hitting him dead on. After the blow, he fell to his knees, but his head remained high.

Hiccup: 0

Wolflegs: 1300 (Winner)

"Hiccup!" Ragnar and Fishlegs yelled.

Astrid stared. "I can't believe it… he lost…"

"Still it was pretty close," said Heather.

"No!" Fishlegs cried running over to Hiccup.

Hiccup just smiled and looked at Wolflegs. "Thanks for a great duel, Wolflegs."

Wolflegs said nothing as he turned away, then looked back, smiling slightly. Fishlegs' eyes met with his brothers and they just stood there as they took in what had just happened between the Obelisk and Slifer. Wolflegs turned away again and walked away, with Astrid and Heather quickly ran up to him.

"So, Wolflegs… what do you think?" Astrid asked him, walking alongside him.

"I think Fishlegs shows some good friends…" He said quietly, almost like if he was happy for his brother. Astrid and Heather noticed this and let small smiles cross their faces.

Hiccup watched them all leave and looked at Fishlegs. "Your brother sure is skilled."

"He sure does," Fishlegs agreed.

"Best we get home and work on our decks," said Hiccup and Fishlegs nodded. "And I say we arrange yours so you can finally use that Power Bond. How about it?"

Fishlegs nodded. "For sure and now I know how to play not just use it."

They then made their way towards the dorm Ragnar in tow. There was no way though going to lose the tag match now.

* * *

Dragon Knight Druid

ATK: 500/ DEF: 1100

3 Stars

DARK

Spellcaster/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-Type while on Field or in the Graveyard. If this card was destroyed you can add one Dragon Knight card from your Graveyard and add it to your hand.

Dragon Knight Defender

ATK: 1600/ DEF: 3000

6 Stars

EARTH

Warrior/ Fusion/ Effect

Dragon Knight Scaldy + Dragon Knight Meatlug

This monster cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card is treat as a Dragon-Type while on the Field or in the Graveyard.


	10. Tag Team Trial Part 1

Spitelout walked through the hallway of Duel Academy's main building, taking note of all of the red-coat students.

' _Just look at them, pathetic slackers littering the campus like vermin_.' He thought. ' _The hallowed halls of MY Duel Academy are for the elite, not the lame and especially NOT Hiccup Haddock_.' And then, he busted out yelling, " _THOSE SLIFER SLACKERS HAS MADE A FOOL OUT OF ME FOR LONG ENOUGH!_ " Spitelout yelled so loud it caused the Slifer Red students around to duck into a nearby classroom. " _But soon they will pay most dearly for it. Soon, he will be the one who looks like a fool._ "

"Dad."

Spitelout turned to see his son, Snotlout walking up to him. "Ah, son, how can I help you?"

"You can put me in the elimination duel against Hiccup and Fishlegs that's how!" said Snotlout. "This time I'm sure I can beat them and send them packing."

"Sorry, son but you're sitting out this time around," said Spitelout, making Fishlegs gasp. "Don't get me wrong, your skills are admirable, but I'm not taking any chances. If Hiccup loses here he'll be expelled from Duel Academy once and for all. Which is why he'll be facing the greatest tag Duellists in the world!"

He then broke out into a maniacal laugh fest and walked away, leaving Snotlout standing in his spot frustrated.

* * *

At the Slifer Red Dorm, Jaden and Fishlegs were in their room with Ragnar, going over their decks for their big duel today. Hiccup and Fishlegs were both calm despite the circumstances of their duel today.

"I'm sure you guys will be great," said Ragnar.

"We'll have to be oils will be expelled," Fishlegs moaned.

"Let's not talk like that and pretend that this is just a normal everyday duel," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, at least it is not another Shadow Game like that one you faced with Titan," said Ragnar.

"But this isn't just another duel," said Fishlegs as his handshake while fumbling through his deck. "It's an elimination tag-duel, and if we lose we'll be on the next bus out of here."

"That's totally why we're not gonna lose today," said Hiccup "And Legs, we're on an island, bus?"

Fishlegs looked at his Power Bond card nervously. ' _I hope he's right, because the last time I duelled I was awful. Just like my big brother always told me I was to win this I just have to do better and let nothing get in my way_.' He then places Power Bond card into his deck. ' _Especially Wolflegs_. _After all the last time I let him get to me Hiccup really let me had it_.'

He remembered what Hiccup yelled at him when he tried to leave and what he and Ragnar's made sense. ' _I have to believe in myself that exactly what I'm going to do. Believe in myself, believe in myself, I believe in myself._ ' He then got to his feet and yelled out loud, "I believe in myself, Hiccup!"

"That's… great," said Hiccup to his feet.

"Good luck guys, I'll be rooting for you," said Ragnar.

"Thanks Rag and will see you in the winner's circle," said Hiccup.

Then he and Fishlegs left to what would be the most important duel of their lives.

* * *

At the main duelling stadium, all the students, teachers and the Chancellor took their seats waiting for the first.

"Attention! The Disciplinary Duel is about to begin! Remember, these are test conditions! This a sudden expulsion match!"

Speedfist sat in one of the many seats of the arena, noticing most of the population of the school was filling the arena up and quick. He listened to the announcement and folded his arms, "A bit harsh I'd say…"

"No joke…"

"Huh?" He turned to see Astrid, Heather and Ragnar walking up and sitting next to him.

Astrid sighed. "I'm the reason they're in this mess. They were helping me at the abandoned dorm…" she explained.

"Personally if it was anyone who should be duelling it should be me it was my suggestion that we head to the dorm in the first place," said Ragnar.

"I doubt Hiccup would want that," said Heather.

"But now, if anyone's gonna need help, it's those two," Astrid noted. "I hear Spitelout got two professional duellists, and they used to work for the creator of Duel Monsters."

"Then they'll be in the fight of their lives," said Ragnar.

"Send in the accused: Hiccup Haddock and Fishlegs Ingerman!" The announcement echoed over the arena.

Snotlout sat in an empty section of the audience, next to the entrance. He was still angry that he wasn't the one taking on the Slifer Slackers. He turned to see the two of them enter the arena and kicked the seat in front of him, making nearby Obelisks turn to look at him.

Hiccup turned his head at the sound of the echo of the kick. "Wow… great acoustics in here." He noted.

"Yeah, you think maybe they'll count your echo as your tag partner?" Fishlegs asked hopefully.

"How about we start with a positive attitude, Legs?" Hiccup suggested.

"Yeah, I suppose you right," said Fishlegs.

As the two them headed to the platform, Snotlout gripped the arms of his seat, his knuckles white. " _You Slifer Slackers… it should be me who's taking you out! But I guess as long as you get kicked out, it doesn't matter who does it…_ "

Back down at the arena, Hiccup saw that Ragnar was sitting with Astrid and Heather and along with them was Speedfist. "Hey look, Ragnar made it here!" He pointed out as they both waved at their Slifer friends.

Ragnar simply nodded and gave them the thumbs up.

Fishlegs noticed that Wolflegs was watching down from the stands as well. ' _Well little brother, time to see if you belong here or next plane out of here_ ,' he thought.

Seeing his brother made him extremely nervous, but he tried to give positive attitude as he made his way over towards Hiccup, who'd already reached their end of the arena.

Spitelout took centre stage when Fishlegs joined Hiccup on their end of the arena. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce our special guest Duellists…" Spitelout announced. Two men flipped onto the stage. They were both bald in Chinese robes, one wearing orange and the other green. They had strange markings on their heads. Everyone watched in astonished as they flipped over Hiccup and Fishlegs and landed on the other side.

"What is this?" the two Slifer said.

"The Paradox Brothers!"

"Salutations, you fools," the one in orange greeted.

"Hope you're ready to duel?" the one in green asked.

"This has gone bad to worse," said Hiccup.

"You know them?" said Fishlegs.

"Tag-team legends, but I didn't know they still duelled."

"True, they haven't duel in ages," Spitelout introduced. "They have only lost one tag duel and the one to beat them was Jorund and the Duel King himself."

"No way!" Fishlegs gasped. "They fought Yugi the Undefeated and Jorund the Underdog!?"

In the stands Astrid looked extremely nervous.

"I've heard that these guys are the best tag Duellists in the world," said Astrid. "This is hardly fair."

"No kidding!" Heather fumed.

"Though not unexpected," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"Indeed, I think that was Spitelout's point," said Speedfist. "Statistically speaking, I put Hiccup and Fishlegs' odds at winning at one in fifty."

"Way to show support, Speedfist," Astrid muttered.

"Honestly," Heather agreed.

"Let's not count them out just yet the duel hasn't even started," said Ragnar.

"Hey, Ragnar," Snotlout called out to the big and small Slifer. "Looks like there's going to be a whole lot more room in your dorm. Your friends are toast."

"Jerk," Ragnar muttered.

"Spitelout?" Stoick called from the side-lines furiously. "Don't you think this is a bit much?"

"No, not at all!" Spitelout protested. "Hiccup and Fishlegs broke a big time rule so they should duel big time opponents! Besides we can't send the brothers back now they've come so far…"

"Oh what does it matter, you're the one paying the two men their travel costs!" said Stoick, making Spitelout drop to the ground. "Hiccup, I'll leave it to you, sons."

"Don't worry, we'll beat the hell off them… uh, if they had any?" said Hiccup.

"How clever," Spitelout moaned as he got back up. Out loud on the microphone, "Duellists, prepare to battle!"

Hiccup noticed that Fishlegs was looking nervous. "Breathe, Legs," said Hiccup taking a deep breath. "We can do this."

"The rules of this duel are quite simple. Each team will have 8000 points, rather than having four thousand to each player separately. Also there is no sharing of strategy, no sharing of advice, and no sharing of cards that aren't already in play. You can, however, use cards on your partner's field. Understand?"

"Yeah!" The duellists replied.

"All right, then, duel!" said Spitelout, leaping off the stage.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 8000

Paradox Brothers: 8000

Hiccup and Fishlegs looked to one another before sharing a nod and smiles, silently telling the other that they were gonna walk out of here victorious.

"Here goes," said Fishlegs as he drew his first card and grab the card in his hand. "I gotta summon Gyroid in attack mode." Gryroid appeared on his side of the field. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1000)

Para drew his card. "You must be joking. I'm surprised that thing even have an attack mode. This on the other hand… Jirai Gumo!" A giant brown spider appeared opposite the helicopter. (ATK: 2200/DEF: 100)

"An overgrown bug?" said Hiccup as he drew his card. "That's nothing that our decks can't squash. I summon Dragon Knight Meatlug in defence mode!" The husky female knight took a defensive stance in front of Hiccup. (ATK: 1300/DEF: 2000)

"The best defence is a good offense," said Dox starting his turn. "I summon Kaiser Seahorse, attack mode!" A blue and seemingly armoured creature carrying a spear and shield appeared. (ATK: 1700/DEF: 1650)

Fishlegs was confident he knew what would come next. ' _Okay, if I know duelling like I think I know duelling these guys are sure to attack next_ ,' he thought

"I choose to play a spell card from my hand…" Dox announced, much to Fishlegs surprise. "Tribute Doll! To activate it, I must sacrifice one monster on the field. Good thing my brother is so generous with his." The brothers shared a look. "Farewell, Jirai Gumo." Black vines gripped the spider and destroyed it. "Now I can summon a level 7 monster this turn and I choose Kazejin!" The spider was replaced by a green machine that was only a pair of arms and a face with a Japanese kanji on it. It appeared in a blast of wind. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 2200)

"He sacrificed his brother's monster to summon a better one for the team, now that's tag duelling," said Speedfist.

"Would you mind not sounding so impressed, Bastion?" Astrid asked, sounding annoyed.

"This could be a problem," said Heather. "I recognise that car is one of three monsters and I have a feeling I know what the going to summon and if that gets onto the field but have a hard time winning."

"I think Hiccup nose judging by the look on his face," said Ragnar noticing the expression Hiccup was giving out.

"Guess we'll see, but I'm sure they'll win even if it comes out," Astrid assured.

On the arena, Para and Dox started their rhyming taunts again…

"Do you actually think you know anything of this game?"

"You're losers, you're jokes, in other words, you're lame."

"And if they think this is starting to get gruelling." Para continued.

"Wait until I give them a true schooling." Dox finished. "I play Dark Designator. This powerful spell allows me to call out the name of any monster I can think of. And if it's in my brother's deck, it is added immediately to his hand." He then put on a fake thinking look. "Now let me see… Sanga of the Thunder!" He pointed to Para.

Para laughed and drew the card. "What do you know, it is right here, ready to tear them asunder."

' _This is bad, I doubt we'll be able to stop it before they summon it, so have to deal with him when it comes onto the field_ ,' Hiccup thought. He then looked at Fishlegs ' _I just hope Fishlegs doesn't panic_?'

"The duel is just starting…" Para announced.

"Yet it is almost done…" said Dox.

They each pointed to the kids. "For your demise has already begun!"

Hiccup noticed that Fishlegs was quivering a bit. "It's okay Legs. The only sane now because it makes for an easy rhyme," Hiccup assured. He then turned and looked at the Paradox Bros. ' _I just hope this doesn't make out to be an easy duel_.' He then began to look around across the field. ' _Okay, I've got Meatlug in defence mode and Fishlegs' got… well, he's got his little helicopter thing. Not bad, but not good was staring down some serious opposition._ ' He then turned his attention on Kazejin. ' _It's going to get a lot worse if we don't stop that thing from being summoned._ '

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "What you say Hiccup. If we just quit right now will have some extra time to pack up all our stuff. So—uh—shall we."

"Fishlegs relax, we can beat these guys," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs shook his head. "You know what Hiccup you're right." He then looked at the Paradox Bros. ' _We can do this_.' He then turned his head and looked at Wolflegs. ' _Not only am I gonna show the Paradox Bros, but I'm gonna show my brother as well. And I'm gonna do it right here right now._ '

Fishlegs then drew his card. "All aboard, I summon Streamroid in attack mode! And I'm also going to play this Polymerization, check it out. I'm taking my Gryroid and Streamroid and fusing them together to create the ultimate engine that could!" They watched as his two monsters began to fuse together. "Steam Gyroid."

Then a steam train and helicopter hybrid appeared on his side of the field. (ATK: 2200/ DEF: 1600)

"Now that locomotion," he said and turned to look at Dox. "You see you guys made a mistake and all that teamwork when you sacrificed Jirai Gumo you left your brother completely defenceless. Leaving the door wide open for an attack."

Hiccup realise what he was about to do. "Legs, wait—"

However, Fishlegs was to focus on his duelling to listen. "And now I'm coming in! Steam Gyroid attack Para!"

Para eyes widened. "Ah, a direct attack."

"Got that right!" said Fishlegs.

Almost everyone in the stadium knew this attack was going to fail, but Fishlegs didn't notice. He was more focused on his Steam Gyroid rushing straight towards Para.

"If you please brother," said Para smirking.

Dox nodded. "It would be my pleasure indeed brother. Kazejin! Defend with Squall barricade!"

Suddenly Kazejin appeared out of nowhere pleasing itself between Para and Steam Gyroid. He then created a powerful gust of wind that blew Steam Gyroid away."

"What happened?" said Fishlegs.

"Kazejin's special ability reduces all damage from an opponent's monster zero, but luckily for us they can only use at once," said Hiccup.

"So I goofed," said Fishlegs.

Spitelout laughed at the sight. "Do these two actually think they have a chance of beating Para and Dox? They stink worse than dirty socks…" Spitelout muttered happily as he watched the duel. "Hah, now they even have me doing it."

Stoick looked at the two boys. "I know you can come back from this son."

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs. "You made one mistake we haven't lost the duel yet."

"Yeah right," said Fishlegs.

"I'm serious. Just keep going."

Fishlegs' nodded. "All right, I place one card facedown and in my turn."

"At last a smart move!" said Para as he drew his card. "I play Monster Reborn and bring back the frightful Jirai Gumo!" The spider returned to the field. (ATK: 2200/DEF: 100) "And I play a spell card, Tribute Doll!"

"Not again!" Fishlegs gasped.

"Yes again, and again! I choose to sacrifice Jirai to summon a level 7 monster: Suijin!" The spider was sacrificed again for a new, blue monster that looked like a pair of legs with a mouth in the midsection. (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2400) "But I'm not done yet, mind if I borrow a monster, Brother?"

"Please, that's why he's there." Dox graciously offered.

"I sacrifice Kaiser Seahorse!" The monster was covered with dark fire.

"In case you did not know, when summoning a light attribute monster, Kaiser Seahorse's sacrifice counts as two instead of one which is why I can now summon Sanga of the Thunder!" The new monster was a dull bronze colour and was only an armoured top and a pair of arms. (ATK: 2600/DEF: 2200)

"Now I place those odds at 500 to 1," said Speedfist.

"What are the odds of you shutting up?" Astrid asked partially.

"How will we let those four do the fighting instead of each other," Ragnar suggested.

"Rag is right because if Fishlegs is like this when that big monster comes out, then he and Hiccup are gonna lose!" Heather warned.

"Three monsters on our side, what could be better?" Para asked.

"I know, Brother, when they come together." Dox replied.

"Prepare yourselves!" Para rejoiced. "I sacrifice Suijin, Kazejin, and Sanga of the Thunder so I can now summon the ultimate monster: Gate Guardian!" In a huge burst of light, a compilation of the three monsters appeared. Sanga formed the head and arms, Kazejin was the torso, and Suijin was the legs. (ATK: 3750/DEF: 3400)

"Gate Guardian!?" Hiccup stared at the new creature. "I was hoping that we could prevent this."

"Wait until you see his attack." Para pointed forward. "Gate Guardian! Destroy Steam Gyroid! Tidal Surge attack!" The large creature went for it, easily destroying Fishlegs monster.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 6450

Paradox Brothers: 8000

"This isn't a duel," said Speedfist. "Its target practice for the Paradox Bros and Fishlegs is the bull's-eye."

"He's just made a few bad moves that all," said Astrid. "He'll turn things around. At least I hope he does. Hiccup's good, but he's not good enough to win this thing by himself."

"I know that we keep on telling Fishlegs, but the first sign of trouble he wants to throw in the towel," said Ragnar.

"Maybe Hiccup will be able to boost his confidence," said Heather.

"I believe that what he's got planning, but will have to wait and see if it works," said Ragnar.

"I know it hurts…" Para mocked to the lowered head Fishlegs.

"But it's about to get worse." Dox warned.

"If it gets as bad as this rhyming then we're in serious trouble," Fishlegs commented.

Peeking up from the edge, Spitelout chuckled. ' _These two are duelling perfectly!_ ' He thought. ' _They know just what to do and are doing it. After all, in a Tag Duel, once you eliminate the weakest link, the whole chain comes crumbling apart_.' Spitelout gave a devious look to Fishlegs. ' _And they certainly found just that, little Fishlegs. Poor little Fishlegs, he would be the weakest link on a plate of sausages with that confidence of his._ ' He barely contained his laughter.

" _Ah, man I hope Hiccup has something special in that deck of his or this match is over and so our lives at the Academy,_ ' Fishlegs thought looking at Hiccup.

Hiccup looked up at the Gate Guardian and looked at Fishlegs. "Well, the bigger they are the harder they fall. Let's take this thing down."

"I can't wait to see you try," said Para as he placed a facedown. "So I'll end my turn were a facedown card."

"Then it's time for me to get to work," said Hiccup as he drew his card. He nodded. "Okay Brothers Paradox and to summon a monster that will clean your clocks. I summon Dragon Knight Cloudjumper in attack mode."

He then summon another one of his knights unlike all the others this one had dragon-like armour, but the main difference was the helmet. It was shaped like an owl's head and judging from the legs this guy was very skilled when it comes to jumping. Also his armour had two sets of wings instead of the one single set (ATK: 2000/ DEF: 100)

"He's powerful, but not as powerful as that Gate Guardian," said Fishlegs. "He only has 2000 attack points that guardians attack points are 3750. Cloudjumper will be sent straight into the clouds."

"True, but he has a unique ability. You see by lowering his attack point by 400 he's able to jump over your monsters and attack you directly," said Hiccup.

"Are Life Points!" The Paradox Bros yelled.

"But don't take my word for it you can see for yourselves," said Hiccup. "Cloudjumper attack with Cloud Slicer!"

Cloudjumper nodded and jumped right into the air. (ATK: 2000-1600). He then suddenly did the most astonishing acrobatics anyone had seen as he bounced off the Gate Guardian and hovered in the air right above Para and Dox. He then pulled out several daggers in each hand and then sent them flying straight at the two brothers.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 6450

Paradox Brothers: 6400

"The downside is that he is forced to go into defence mode after attacking, but it's a special ability what you gonna do," Hiccup shrugged as Cloudjumper took a defensive stance.

"A lucky move," Dox growled.

"All right, we're back in this thing!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Legs, we were never out of it," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs nodded. ' _Yeah, Hiccup's right we can win this_."

"I think that the punishment for now so I'll finish off with one facedown." A card appeared by Hiccup.

"It's my draw!" Dox announced as he drew. "I activate the equip spell card Fairy Meteor Crush! And I'm equipping it to the Gate Guardian. Now when the Guardian attacks a monster in defence mode, the difference between his attack points and your monster's defence points, are dealt to you as damage!"

"Not so fast! You're forgetting I have a facedown card out!" Fishlegs yelled pressing a button on his Duel Disk. "I'm activating Mystical Space Typhoon. It destroys one Spell or Trap Card and I'm going to use it on the one you just played Fairy Meteor Crush."

They watched as the tornado headed straight over towards Gate Guardian. However, Para simply smirked. "Right into my trap!" Para announced as his facedown card flipped up. "I activate Judgment of Anubis! Foolish boy, this lets me stop your spell simply by discarding one card. Your typhoon has just been downgraded to a cool summer breeze." Mystical Space Typhoon slowly dissolved into nothing. "But wait, that's not all it does. Anubis also destroys one of your creatures." Cloudjumper exploded as the trap card shined on him and the winds of the explosion hit the Slifers as they held their ground.

"And then its attack points are dealt back to you, pretty cool special feature!" Dox finished.

"Not so fast I activate my facedown card," said Hiccup revealing a trap card with a picture of a duellist being hit by a fireball from a Red Eyes Black Dragon. "Dragon Backfire! This card reduces the damage we would take by half and the other half gets dealt straight to you."

"What?" The Paradox Bros gasped.

Then they hit by a fireball that exited from the trap card.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 5450

Paradox Brothers: 5400

"Another lucky move. But your backs are still against the wall, but in fact the wall is right in front of you, I play this and end my turn." Dox summoned a gray brick wall with pipes for arms appeared and protected itself. (ATK: 0/DEF: 2100) "It's called Defence Wall, and as long as it's on the field in defence mode all the monsters you have got to attack him!"

"The Gate Guardian on offense and that wall on defence." Speedfist commented. "Almost flawless."

"I get it," Alexis said irritated. "Now are you going to be quiet or am I going to have to move?"

"Yeah, who's side are you on?" said Ragnar.

"It's your move," Dox told Jason. "What are you waiting for?"

"To be honest a miracle," said Fishlegs as he drew his card. "There's nothing I can do I pass."

Fishlegs could feel Hiccup's eyes digging into the back of his skull. ' _Hiccup is looking at me, I can feel it. I know I should put up some sort of offence, but there was nothing I can do._ '

Stoick looked at the duel grimly. ' _Maybe I should've let Ragnar of Astrid be his tab partner. Still, if I know my son you'll find a way out of this_.'

"You play nothing what a fool," said Para as he drew his card. "Gate Guardian! Tidal Surge Attack!"

"Meatlug defend!" Hiccup yelled.

Meatlug suddenly placed herself between Fishlegs and the attack. Of course is meant that she took the full blow of the attack.

"By discarding one can't my hand my monster is destroyed in battle," said Hiccup as you discover the card. "And the best thing is I discarded my Dragon Knight Emblem trap card which means I can take a Dragon Knight and added to my hand." He then began looking for his deck. "I'll think I'll snag Dragon Knight Hookfang."

"Your monster may be safe, but the said can't be said for your life points," said Para. "or did you forget the effect of Fairy Meteor Crush?"

Gate Guardian's attack then hit Hiccup hard with so much force he fell to his knees.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 3700

Paradox Brothers: 5400

"Your life points are falling," said Para

"Your gameplay is appalling," Dox added.

"There is nothing to be done except give up and start fall," they said in unison and they laughed.

It was no Hiccup's turn, but he was still on his knees due to the attack he just received.

"Attention, Hiccup Haddock it is your turn. You must make a move or you will be disqualified," said the announcer.

* * *

Dragon Knight Cloudjumper

ATK: 2000/ DEF: 100

Stars 4

WIND

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-Type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. By lowering this monsters attack points by 400 (permanently) this card is allowed to attack your opponent directly. After this card wages in an attack it is the defence mode.

Dragon Backfire

Trap Card

If you take damage one effect you can half the damage you would have taken and your opponent is dealt the same damage as you.

Card image: Picture of a duellist being hit by a fireball from a Red Eyes Black Dragon


	11. Tag Team Trial Part 2

"Well, it's two monsters to one and one of them has nearly 4000 attack points. That a simple calculation they'll be knackered," said Speedfist.

"Nice, now you're dogging them words I can't even understand," said Astrid glaring at him.

"Yeah, we have to believe that Hiccup has a strategy," said Ragnar.

"Oh, I'm certain he does," said Speedfist. "It's Fishlegs I'm concerned about. He's walked into every trap, spell and attack the Paradox Bros have played. He's been horrible."

"It's only good with words of encouragement," Heather muttered.

"Yeah, I preferred it when I didn't understand what he was saying," said Astrid.

Speedfist held his hands up in surrender. "Oh, sorry."

Ragnar leaned over to Speedfist. "Take my word advice mate and close your mouth before you find Astrid's fist in it."

Speedfist looked at him thinking he was joking, but the expression on Ragnar's face was deadly serious.

Snotlout was smirking at the site of the two Slifer losing. ' _Those Slifer Red Slackers are getting the beat down they deserve_!' he thought. ' _I can't wait until they lose and kicked out of Duel Academy. Especially Useless._ '

"Uh, Snotlout?" Dogsbreath asked, seeing his seething. "You all right?" The Obelisk just ignored him.

' _That slime! Thinking he could become the next King of Games. No way, that's my destiny_! _Especially since he is about to be expelled_.'

"I'm a genius, a sheer genius a pure genius!" said Spitelout, chuckling. "First law them deep inside the Abandoned Dorm, then I arrange this tag duel as punishment, and then I hire the best tag Duelists to ensure they lose and get expelled!" Spitelout burst into laughter.

"So, Crowler, enjoying the boys' punishment a little too much, aren't we?" Spitelout jumped, he forgot Chancellor Sheppard was sitting right behind him with a dark expression on his face.

"Oh my no, you misinterpret," said Spitelout, nervously. "I'm just laughing because I'm happy the duel's nearly done. I wouldn't want to prolong our students' suffering, they look all so weary."

"They don't look weary to me," said Stoick smirking. "In fact, looks like my boy is getting his second wind." Spitelout looked at Hiccup, the boy I just got back onto his feet with a determined look on his face.

The Paradox Brothers noticed it too…

"Well, well, the Slifer Red forges ahead," Para commented.

"When a smarter Duellist would have fled." Dox finished.

Hiccup shook his head. "Oh man, I'm starting to wish the Academy made us Slifer Orange then we wouldn't have to put up with so many of these awful rhymes!" Hiccup joked. The Paradox Brothers actually looked insulted by that comment.

Toothless then appeared next to him. "Indeed, it gets tiring after the first few rhymes."

"Well maybe my next move or shut them up," said Hiccup.

"Forget about our rhyming…"

"Just concentrate on your card playing."

"For the partner you have…"

"To win, you have a long way."

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup apologetic expression. "Don't you listen to them, Legs," Hiccup nodded with a smile.

"But there right," said Fishlegs.

"They're not right, Legs," said Hiccup turning to look at the Gate Guardian and pointed at it. "I know, because you're the one who's going to take that thing down." Fishlegs looked at him in bewilderment. "So, let's go."

Hiccup then drew his card. "First I activate the spell card Costs Down," said Hiccup with hearing the spell card. "Thanks to this all I have to do is discard one card and I can lower the levels of all monsters in my hand by two stars." Hiccup centre card from his hand the Graveyard and then picked up a second card. "Now I'll summon my Dragon Knight Skullcrusher in attack mode!"

Then some are very beefy warrior appear on the field with the most heavy armoured armour anyone had ever seen. Like all the other nights he had dragon-like armour which was green with several brown bits here and there. The helmet had these massive horns that resembled a Hercules beetle. (ATK: 2200/ DEF: 2500)

"Okay, and now I have attack that Defence Wall with Horn Bash," said Hiccup.

Skullcrusher then charged that Defence Wall and slammed into it headfirst. In a manner seconds the entire wall collapsed into a crumpled heap.

"Now my monster's ability activate. You see when you destroy them defence position months as a result of battle then the opponent takes 500 point of damage!"

The Paradox Bros gasped as the rubble of the Defence Wall headed straight towards them.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 3700

Paradox Brothers: 4900

"Now I'll play a facedown card and I my spell card Block Attack and that of this card I can change one monster from offence to defence and I choose the Gate Guardian," said Hiccup.

They watched as the Gate Guardian fell to his knees and took up a defence position.

"Well, that was certainly an odd choice," said Speedfist.

"He's definitely up to something, but I can't say what," said Ragnar.

"Well, unless Hiccup has something planned he just wasted his move," said Speedfist.

"I'm sure he does have something planned," said Heather.

Astrid placed her hands together. "Come on, Hiccup."

"You must be a fool when Gate Guardian on defence he never tires. Your situation is just as dire," said Para.

"And though I hate to fan the fire, but even with our Defence Wall destroyed you have yet to retire," Dox finished.

"We'll see about that," said Hiccup.

"Fine then," said Dox as he drew his card. "I'll just place one card facedown, no more no less. Brother, you do the rest."

"Excellent decision, I think it's for the best. For I'm quite certain next turn I'll win us this next contest," Para finished.

Fishlegs looked at his deck then back at Hiccup. "Ah, man. Hiccup, you heard them next turn they're going to take us out. There's no point for me to even drawing, I should just give up maybe they'll at least give you a rematch then."

"Legs, listen to me," said Hiccup and Fishlegs turned and looked at him. "One draw… that's always takes to turn an entire duel. You remember last time you had one draw right?"

Fishlegs the remembered one of their duels in their dorm room. Hiccup had created an impressive defence that looked almost impenetrable and Fishlegs had no way of breaking through it.

"Ha, you'll never get out of this," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs sighed. "Ha, I give. Let's have a rematch, but first let's see what I would have drawn." He then looked at the top card of his deck. "And it's—wow, this changes everything!"

"Yeah, well—it—uh, doesn't change the fact that you already gave up match though right?"

Fishlegs laughed.

"Do you understand there is no such thing as a last draw, because with the right card you can always get another draw," said Hiccup.

"But—"

"No buts about it," Hiccup said firmly. "Make your move. I know you can do it Legs it's all up to you."

' _I know, Hiccup. That's what I'm afraid of_ ,' Fishlegs thought. He then looked up at Gate Guardian. ' _Hiccup said on draw can change this duel, but the only way we won't lose it if I'd be that Gate Guardian._ ' Fishlegs eyes widened as he understood Hiccup's gameplan and he looked at his deck. ' _Of course, that one card is the only chance we have, but if I don't draw it were done_.' He then placed her hand over the top of his deck. ' _Hiccup, me, all of our hopes of becoming the best. Everything we ever dreams about, our fun, our friendship, our future… it'll all be over._ '

Fishlegs then drew his card. "All right, here it goes." He looked to the card it was and what he needed, but he could still get it. "I activate the spell card Pot of Greed and thanks to this I get a draw to extra cards." He looked down his deck. ' _I just hope that the card we need._ '

Hiccup watched as Fishlegs reached for his deck. ' _You can do this Legs just gotta believe._ '

Fishlegs drew his cards and looked at them. "Hiccup!"

"You got it?" Hiccup smiled. "Then show them the _drill_."

Fishlegs nodded. "All right, I summon Drillroid, in attack mode," said Fishlegs. Then a digger appeared on his side of the field and like his other cards it looked like it had arms and legs as well as eyes. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1600). "And guess what when Drillroid fights a monster in defence mode it automatically destroyed. However, I'm not planning on attacking, because I activate the spell card Shield Crush! And just like the name says it destroyed any monster that tries to hide in defence mode. Just like, that Gate Guardian!"

The Paradox Brothers stared in horror as is being exited from the card and hit Gate Guardian destroying him."

"Gate Guardian's cooked!" Para cried.

"I can hardly look," said Dox.

"Nice going, Legs," said Hiccup.

"Oh, I'm not done yet, because Drillroid is now going to tag your life points directly!" said Fishlegs.

Drillroid then slammed into Para with his drill that spun around.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 3700

Paradox Brothers: 3300

"Nice going, Fishlegs!" Hiccup congratulated. "The bigger they brawl, the harder they fall!" Fishlegs just rub the back of his head.

The crowd burst into cheers.

Wolflegs just grunted as he watched the turn around by Hiccup and Fishlegs from almost losing to winning. He wasn't watching the duel for entertainment purposes, but for lessons. Lessons that only these two can give him, even if they didn't know it.

"No, this is supposed to be punishment! And the crowd's treating them like heroes! How can they be doing this?" Spitelout asked.

"Simple," Stoick replied startling Spitelout again. "They're students at Duel Academy, and we accept nothing but their best. And this tag team duel you arranged is setting up teamwork and duel fortitude, fine job."

"Did you see that? Did you? Tell me you three saw that!" said Speedfist, shocked at what just developed.

"Speedfist, we're next to you watching our friends in the duel of their lives. What do we're think I'm looking at?" Astrid snapped.

"I know I'm certainly watching," said Heather grinning.

"As I," said Ragnar.

"But you know what amazes me more than even them taking down that Gate Guardian?" Astrid asked. "The teamwork they used to do it. That's what it's going to take to win this."

"Yes, so let's hope they can keep it up," said Speedfist.

"Okay, now I'll end turn," said Fishlegs. He then looked at Hiccup gratefully. "Thanks for the pep talk."

"Anything to help my friend," said Hiccup.

"Mind if we join in on the praise, you two?" Para asked.

"Because for destroying Gate Guardian we should really… thank you."

Two Slifers looked confused.

"They say what does not kill you only makes you stronger," said Para drawing a card. "And it's true, after all, we're not beaten yet and we're about to become more powerful than ever! I play the spell Dark Element! This spell card can only be played when Gate Guardian is in the graveyard. We pay half our life points…"

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 3700

Paradox Brothers: 1650

"We can summon a monster that can't be destroyed in battle."

"Dark Guardian!" The Paradox Brothers called out. Black smoke took shape and formed an armored, burly man carrying an axe and riding some sort of a mechanical spider. (ATK: 3800/DEF: 3450)

"Invincible in battle and it has those attack points?" Speedfist gasped.

Syrus was thinking along the same lines. "This is bad!"

"Now, Guardian attack Drillroid with Axe Slash Bash!" Para commanded.

The guardian swung its large axe at the drill.

"I activate my Trap Card!" Hiccup yelled revealing his facedown. It showed an image of Dragon Knight Skullcrusher placing himself between Dragon Knight Toothless and a fireball. "Dragon Knight Bodyguard! Thanks to this card I can redirect you attack to another monster and that will be Skullcrusher!"

Skullcrusher then came out of nowhere and pushed Drillroid out of the way taking the hit for him.

"Your monster will still be destroyed as will your life points," said Para and Skullcrusher exploded.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 2100

Paradox Brothers: 1650

"An impressive trap card," said Para

"I'd never thought they would be so hard," said Dox.

"I know, we bombard and bombard. Oh well, at least our precious Dark Guardian…"

"…Has kept up his guard."

"Quite right, brother, he will not be blasted to shards."

"He'll finish them off next turn…"

"And this duel will be ours!"

Fishlegs then fell to his knees and depression. ' _Ah, just when I step up my game there's even more_ ,' he thought.

Spitelout laughed. "Here comes the final moment I've been waiting for. The moment these two losing get expelled."

"Don't worry, Legs," said Hiccup and Fishlegs stared at him. "This match isn't over yet and don't forget were still in the lead with life points."

"But Hiccup—"

"But nothing… Stand up and watch me go to work," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs looked at him and nodded and got to his feet.

"It looks like the boy still wants to proceed," said Para.

"Really? I thought surely that for mercy he would plead…" said Dox.

"No, he would need smarts to concede."

"Can it you two, it's my turn," said Hiccup as he drew his card. "And I activate the spell card Pot of Greed this let me draw two cards." Hiccup drew his two extra cards and looked at them and nodded. "And next I'll play the spell card Polymerization and are fused together Dragon Knights Hookfang, Windshear and let's throw Meatlug in the mix as well. All to create Dragon Knight Berserker!"

They watched as the three monsters fused together and seconds later a muscular man in silver red dragon-like armour appeared on the field. His hands were more like claws and they will razor sharp, his head was completely covered by a terrifying looking helmet and the wings on his back looked like they could cut for anything. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2600)

"Fine creature," Speedfist commented. "But it's still too weak to defeat their Guardian."

"Speedfist who's side are you on?" Astrid glared. She then looked down at Hiccup. ' _I hope you know what you're doing Hiccup_.'

"An impressive move, but it is useless boy," said Para.

"Have you forgotten about Dark Guardian?" Dox asked. "He still deployed… and since in battle he can't be destroyed."

"Their beast is null in void."

"Void this, I activate the Field Spell Dragon Knight Arena!" Hiccup yelled placing his field spell in the slot and his Duel Disk. Suddenly the entire area around them began to change and they found themselves in an arena. "You should always wear armour in arena, because my Dragon Knight gained 1000 attack points, because he's weaker than Dark Guardian. Plus whenever he attacks a monster he gains 500 additional attack points." (ATK: 2800-4300)

"What the!" The Paradox Brothers gasped.

"Now, Berserker! Attack with Berserker Claw!" Hiccup yelled.

Berserker then charge straight down at Dark Guardian slamming his claw-like hands reading to its chest. Despite being stronger the Guardian wasn't destroyed.

"Did I warn you that in battle he can't be beat?" said Para.

"True, but you still take damage," said Hiccup at the shockwave hit the two brothers.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 2100

Paradox Brothers: 1150

"Well, at least he was able to damage their life points," said Astrid.

"True, but they need to do a lot better if they're to win," said Speedfist.

"That can't be it," said Ragnar leaning in forwards. "I think Hiccup had another idea."

"Like what?" Heather asked puzzled,

Up in the stands Wolflegs understood what Hiccup had hoped to accomplish. "Clever, just so long as Fishlegs knows what to do next."

Fishlegs looked nervously at Hiccup. "Hiccup?"

"Don't worry we can still win this so long as you play the right card come your turn," said Hiccup.

"If he has a turn," said Dox as he drew his card. "I activate the trap card One-on-One Fight and force our strongest monsters to do battle! So I hope your Dragon Knight Berserker is up for a rematch!"

"Oh no, since he is attacking Berserker won't gain the power boost, he got before," said Fishlegs.

"But I can still save him by activating his second ability. By sending one spell or trap card to the grave are monster can't be destroyed in battle so I'll destroy my arena," said Hiccup.

They watched as Hiccup's Field Spell began to crumble into dust. Dark Guardian then slammed his axe right on top of Berserker.

"So, you save your monster, but that doesn't mean that you save your life points!" Dox yelled as the shockwave hit the two of them.

Hiccup/Fishlegs: 1100

Paradox Brothers: 1150

"Walmart act like that and their finished," said Speedfist.

"It's all down to Fishlegs now," said Ragnar.

"That's all for me," said Dox.

"And next turn I'll give you my guarantee…" said Para

"This duel will be ours just wait and see."

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs. "All right, Legs remember what I said."

"Oh, right," said Fishlegs. ' _That so long I play the right card_.' His eyes widened and he understood what Hiccup was getting at. Hiccup nodded indicating that he knew what Fishlegs was thinking. Fishlegs looked at his deck. ' _Play? That goes back to what my brother was saying the difference between how to use a card and knowing how to play it, but do I know the difference?_ '

He then looked up at Wolflegs, who was watching the match intensely and he began to remember the conversation they had a few days ago.

"Hey, Wolf? The difference between knowing how to use a card and knowing how to play it? Aren't they the same thing?" he asked.

"That's something that can never be taught only learnt," said Wolflegs. "It takes a moment of pure clarity when you see duelling on a different level. A higher level… all the angles… all the moves. You won't think you just act."

Fishlegs then turned his attention back to his deck. ' _All right, then another thinking. It's time for me to act._ '

"Here we go, my draw," said Fishlegs as he drew his card. He looked at it and found he drew his Power Bond card. "Okay first off are sacrificed Drillroid in order to summon UFOroid." Drillroid was then replaced by a flying saucer with eyes. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1200). "And also I activate the spell card Power Bond."

Hiccup nodded.

"It's a fusion card and I have the two monsters to fuse," said Fishlegs. He then looked at Hiccup. "Hiccup, do you mind?"

"Hey, what mine is yours Legs," said Hiccup.

"Then I merge UFOroid and Berserker to create UFOroid Fighter!" Fishlegs and the two monsters merged with Berserker standing on top of UFOroid like it was some sort of hover board with a cannon. "And it gets better his attack and defence points are the sum total of the two monsters I used to fuse him." (ATK: 4000/ DEF: 3800)

"It matters not. So stop your ceaseless prattle," said Para.

"You know Dark Guardian cannot be destroyed in battle," Dox finished.

"Yeah, that's true, but it doesn't really matter," said Fishlegs. "Because Power Bond has a special effect that doubles my Roid Fighter's attack points."

They watched as UFOroid Fighter attack point increased. (ATK: 4000-8000)

"To make 8000!" The Paradox Brothers gasped in horror.

"Sure, Dark Guardian will survive the attack, but it will be a different story for your life points," said Fishlegs. "Now let's go. Roid Fighter attack! Cosmic Flux Blast!"

UFOroid Fighter then fired a powerful beam that headed straight towards Dark Guardian slamming him in the chest. While he wasn't destroyed the blast hit the Paradox Brothers wiping away the last remains of their life points.

Hiccup/ Fishlegs: 1100 (Winners)

Paradox Brothers: 0

"They did it!" Ragnar and Heather yelled triumphantly.

They was so caught up in the moment that the two actually hugged one another and was they realise they were holding one another they quickly broke apart looking slightly embarrassed.

"They won," said Speedfist with a smile. "Well, well, I must say I'm getting more impressed every day."

"I'm just glad Hiccup gets to stay at the Academy," said Astrid cheerfully.

"Don't you guys mean Hiccup and Fishlegs?" Speedfist asked.

"Well, yes… Fishlegs too of course," Astrid stammered blushing slightly. "I only said Hiccup because… uh… Moving on."

Snotlout kicked the back of the seat in front of him so hard that it bent. He then got up and stormed off with his boys following him.

' _I'll get you two myself!'_ He vowed.

"No, it can't be," said Spitelout falling to the ground. "How could they have won?"

"How? Because of your excellent teaching!" Gobber smirked. "Oh wait, they're in my dorm."

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs. "Let out, Fishlegs. I know you cry when you're happy."

Fishlegs shook his head. "No way, not the new Fishlegs."

However he couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

Hiccup shrugged. "Oh, well there are some things will never change."

"Well, one thing that won't be changing is your enrolment at the Academy," said Stoick look into son proudly. "You did a first rate job son."

Hiccup just added his father. "Thanks, dad."

"However…" Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at Stoick. "You're not getting that easy. I want a five page report about what you've learned by doing the brothers and how it helped you realise that trespassing in the Abandoned Dorm was wrong."

Hiccup groaned. "I should've known it would be this easy."

"I'll make sure they'll get it done, Stoick," said Gobber.

"Well, it could have been a lot worse," said Hiccup. "He could have asked for ten pages."

Fishlegs looked up at his brother, who was still watching from the stands. ' _I want to think that I impressed you Wolf. That I duelled at a higher level. That I showed you that I can play a card not just use it, but I know I still have a lot to learn and a lot to live up to_.'

Wolflegs then smiled and walked away.

"Looks like you guys are staying," said Ragnar walking down from the stands. He then smirked at Hiccup. "And you be pleased to know that Astrid is glad that you're staying, Hiccup."

Hiccup adjusted of him. "W-what do you mean?"

"Come off it, I know you have a little crush on her." Hiccup felt his entire face go pink. "Anyway, at least you get this day and duel for another day."

Then one by one all the students got onto their feet and began clapping. Hiccup just smiled with an arm over his two best friends.

* * *

Dragon Knight Skullcrusher

ATK: 2200/ DEF: 2500

6 stars

EARTH

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-type while face up on the field or in the graveyard. When this card destroys a defence position monster as a result of battle deal 500 points of damage to the opponent.

Dragon Knight Berserker

ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2600

8 stars

FIRE

Warrior/ Fusion/ Effect

Dragon Knight Hookfang + Dragon Knight Meatlug + Dragon Knight Windshear.

This monster cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card is treated as a Dragon-Type while face up on the field or in the graveyard. When this card attacks and opponents monster it gained 500 attack points until the end of the damage step. If this card would be destroyed you can destroy one Spell or Trap Card to prevent this card from being destroyed in battle.

Dragon Knight Bodyguard

Trap Card

If your opponent attacks a monster on your side of the field you can activate this card. Once activated you can switch the attack target to a face up Dragon Knight monster.

Card image: Dragon Knight Skullcrusher placing himself between Dragon Knight Toothless and a fireball.


	12. Formula for Success

Today was Gym Class and two of the schools dorms were currently playing America's favourite pastime. The sport Baseball!

It was currently the Slifer boys versus the Ra boys as the Slifers were up to bat, while the Ras were in the outfield. All the guys were currently in their white and blue gym clothes with the Slifers were red bandanas on their arms and the Ras wearing yellow ones. It was currently the top of the sixth, with the Slifers leading 5-2. There were two outs and the second and third were bases loaded. Next up to bat was the Hiccup Haddock.

"Hiccup, keep your eye on the ball!" Fishlegs coached.

"But make sure it doesn't hit you in the eye," said Ragnar

"Don't worry…" Hiccup replied. "I'll knock that ball right over the fence. Then we'll be six run lead!"

"Hold on! Time out!" A voice called out, running into the baseball field, Speedfist. "I was deep into some attack point quantum mechanics and lost track of time."

"Can ya throw?" One of the yellow players asked Speedfist.

"Sure."

"Well, we need a fresh arm… Pitcher change!" The tired pitcher left the field for Bastion to take the mound.

"I hope you know what you're getting into!" said Hiccup with a firm grip on the bat.

"Oh trust me, Hiccup. I've done all the calculations," Speedfist smirked as he got ready to throw. "Now get ready; for some heat, because this one is coming in red hot!" Speedfist didn't wait for the signals as he launched a fast ball, straight down the middle. Hiccup missed.

"Strike one!" And as for the next throws…

"Strike two!"

"Strike three, you're out!" Hiccup was struck out.

"Nuts!" He shouted.

Soon they switch places and it was now the Slifer's turn at bat and by a strange coincidence. Just as Hiccup's turn to throw the ball it was Speedfist turn at bat.

"Well, here we are again," said Hiccup.

"Yes, but unlike you I'm actually going to hit the ball," Speedfist smirked as he tightened his grip on his bat.

"Oh, is going to be like that is it?"

Speedfist smiled. "Now give your best, Hiccup! That is even you can get the ball over the plate."

"You want it!? You got it!" Hiccup pitched a fast curve ball, hoping to get Speedfist to swing and miss. He swung, but it hit instead.

* * *

Meanwhile, Spitelout was passing by the field trying to think of his next move on getting Hiccup kicked out…

"The Paradox Brothers couldn't beat Hiccup! Chazz couldn't beat Hiccup! I need someone who can beat Hi…AAH!" His ranting was interrupted by a ball straight to his left eye, knocking him into the baseball equipment.

"Heads up!" Spitelout popped out of the pile and saw Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs. When the Slifers realized who was hit, they freaked.

"IT'S YOU! WHO ELSE WOULD CAUSE SUCH INTENSE PAIN?!" Spitelout cried.

"Talk about keeping your eye on the ball," said Ragnar, as Spitelout had the ball lodged in the eye.

"In more ways than one," said Fishlegs.

"Sorry," said Hiccup. "It was…"

"My fault!" Speedfist came up to them. "I was the one who hit the ball."

"Of course," said Spitelout, his mood completely changing as he heard Speedfist. "Here I was looking for a new accomplice and here it hits me right in the face! Well the eye, but that's beside the point."

"Dr. Spitelout, accept my apologies," said Speedfist bowing in respect.

"No, no, no, it was an accident these things happen," said Spitelout, trying to be nice. 'And _a new protégé to back me up!_ '

"Huh?"

Spitelout jumped, he forgotten that Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were still there. "DO YOU THREE MIND?"

"Sorry," they said. "See ya, later Speedfist!" Before they ran off back to the field.

"You really shouldn't be associating yourselves with those slackers…" said Spitelout. "I think it's time you associate yourself with someone more on your level… like me."

* * *

Snotlout entered the classroom and sat down towards the top of the stadium-style room. "It's good to be at the top. Yo, foot rub and an ice tea, pronto!" He commanded snapping his fingers.

"Get it yourself." A random Obelisk student snapped.

"What did you call me?" Snotlout asked the Obelisk. "Go on, say it again, I don't think I heard you."

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Another Obelisk student asked, walking up to him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Snotlout asked rhetorically. "I'm sitting in my seat."

"That's not your seat anymore." The Obelisk informed him.

"You idiot, this seat is mine, I even have a name tag right…" But when Snotlout looked again, the name tag that he put there personally to show everyone that only he was supposed to sit there, was gone! "What the-!"

"I think you'll find your name tag down there." The Obelisk pointed to a seat towards the bottom near the Ra Yellows.

"No way, this has to be some mistake! I don't belong with those losers!" It was then that his father, now sporting a shiner from being hit with the ball, walked into the classroom. "Dad, tell everyone this is a mistake! Tell them I belong appear!"

"But you don't and you haven't since you lost that one duel to… what was his name… oh yeah, Hiccup Haddock… a Slifer!" said Spitelout. "Which is why tomorrow you're going to duel Speedfist Boilson and if you lose to him as well, you two switch dorms!"

Snotlout gasped as the dilemma he was in. "You mean… I'd become a Ra reject?!"

"I guess you're not as half as dumb as you pretend to be, son," said Spitelout, even applauding in amusement.

Snotlout growled in embarrassment with the rest of the class laughing. Snotlout fled the room after. "I WON'T BE A RA!"

* * *

After finishing class, Speedfist, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs had their free time, and were currently heading to the Ra dorm.

"So, how is it that you're so good at baseball?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, you knocked the ball right over the central field without batting an eyelash," said Ragnar curiously.

"I play like I duel," Speedfist explained, while showing him a baseball bat with formulas written on it. "You see, I find that statistics, geometry, mathematics, we use all of them in our daily lives. Whether we're counting life points, or home runs, or just how many helpings of dinner we have."

"You know, I never thought of it that way," said Hiccup to Speedfist.

"So do you have a formula for everything?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.

Speedfist chuckled, "I'll show you."

While the Ra Yellow dorm, the Slifers thought while it wasn't the small mansion that the Obelisk dorm was, it was still better looking than the Slifer Red dorm. Speedfist led Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs to his room which was on the second floor.

When Speedfist opened the door to his dorm room, Hiccup and Ragnar gasped while Fishlegs looked around amazed. The walls and ceiling was covered with equations and formulas alike.

"Welcome to my dorm room," he said. "Also my lab and my workshop." He pointed to the wall his desk was up against. "Over there is formula for trap cards." He swung his hand to point to the opposite wall and ceiling, "Over there is for spell cards." His hand swung again this time pointing to the wall with the window. "And that's… well you get the idea. In here I've cracked the ability to beat almost every card ever made, but as you can see I'm running out of room. So…" He held up a mop and paint bucket. "Mind helping?

"Sure." The four set out to whitewash the walls of Bastion's dorm.

"Hey check it out, I'm Michelangelo," said Hiccup while standing on a step ladder, as his friends laughed. "Get, because I'm painting on the celinnnnggg!" Hiccup lost his footing and his hold on the brush. The brush went flying right into Ragnar's face.

"You do realize, Hiccup, that this means war," said Ragnar in mock anger.

"Look, Rag, it was just an accident!" But Ragnar was already picking up a paint bucket and getting ready to throw it.

"That's enough, you two." Speedfist scolded. "Now give me that paint…" Ragnar threw the paint at Hiccup, but he ducked and the paint covered Speedfist's face instead. Fishlegs burst into laughter. "Oh, funny is it?" Speedfist smacked Hiccup's face with a paint rag.

At that point they began a paint war they got more pain on themselves than on the walls and ceiling.

After a ceasefire, the three got done painting Speedfist's room and after cleaning up themselves, Speedfist invited his two helpers to the Ra Yellow cafeteria.

"Help yourselves!" Bastion offered. Immediately, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs stormed over to the buffet line and grabbed some fish before sitting down in front of the Ra and started chowing down. Bastion chuckled as he went to get his own dinner.

"You know Speedfist your all right," said Ragnar.

"Yeah," Fishlegs agreed. "And so is Ra Yellow's food!"

"I'm starting to think that my decision to stay at Slifer was terrible," said Hiccup looking at the food.

"Oh, you flatter us," said Speedfist bringing over his lobster dinner. "But I'm sure it's not all that much better than Slifer."

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs' eyes bugged out upon seeing the lobster. "Trust me, the closest thing we have to fish is a half alive sardine," said Hiccup.

"Speaking of fish, Speedfist," said Ragnar. "What were you talking with Spitelout about back at the ball field?"

"Actually, he wants me to test to be an Obelisk." Speedfist replied.

"Are you serious?" Fishlegs asked.

"Is that why you were cleaning your room, because you were switching dorms?" Hiccup asked. "Well congratulations, Speedfist, you deserve it."

"Again, you flatter me," said Speedfist, trying to endure the praise.

"But you deserve it!" said Hiccup. "I saw you duel at the entrance exam and you kicked that Duel Proctor's butt! You'll be a shoe-in to pass Crowler's test!"

"And couldn't have happened to nicer guy!" Ragnar added.

"Well thank you." As the four first-year students dug into their respective meals, Speedfist just looked at them with a sad smile on his face.

* * *

In the Obelisk boys' dorm, Snotlout was currently in contact with some not so nice fellows; his older brothers, Spitlout and Slimelout on the video screen communicator, that was a flat screen TV.

"Got it, Snotlout?" Spitlout asked

"Yeah." Snotlout replied.

"We can't hear you." Slimelout pried.

"I said I get it!" Snotlout rolled his eyes. "And it's hardly my fault that our dear father decided to pull this on me."

"He never liked our plans of world domination," said Slimelout. "He seems to think we could spend our talents doing more positive things."

"Anyway, your brother and I are already going through with our ends of it," said Spitlout

"And you had better be following through with your end as well," Slimelout spoke up. "Just think of it, Little Brother, the world of politics, finance, and Duel Monsters! If the Jorgenson family rises to the top of all these things, we will control the world! The future of the Jorgenson family relies on you."

"And we've also heard that you haven't scored any point on that Hofferson girl," said Spitlout. "You understand her family is rich right and more than half of it are pros and Duelling Professors. In fact her uncle Finn is a manager and if the two of you get together it will improve your chances go pro."

"And yet she seems to be more interested in Slifer losers," said Slimelout

"Be the best no matter what!" Spitlout shouted, ending the conversation.

Snotlout clicked off the video communicator. ' _Be the best?_ ' Snotlout thought snidely. ' _How can I be the best?_ ' He got up and went to the window. In the distance he could see Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs. ' _When there are lucky punks like those guys out there?_ ' He then saw Speedfist walk up to them before all three of them took off down the path that led to the Slifer dorm. ' _Looks like Bastion's heading off to spend the night at the Slifer dorm. That means that his dorm room would be empty!_ ' Snotlout had an idea and it wasn't a good one for Bastion.

* * *

In the morning, Hiccup, Ragnar, Fishlegs and Speedfist were awaken by a slamming on their door. "Hiccup! Hiccup!"

Hiccup got up, opened the door and saw Phlegma, the owner of the card shop. "What is it, Ms. Phlegma?"

"I was unloading some supplies from the docks when I saw them… cards everywhere!" The four boys gasped and immediately took off towards the pier.

They found Phlegma claims were correct. A bunch of cards were scattered among the water.

"That's Ring of Destruction!" Hiccup spotted a trap card.

"And Vorse Raider!" Ragnar added, spotting the monster card.

"Speedfist, these are all of your cards." Hiccup identified.

"It's my own fault," said Speedfist. "This deck was in the desk I moved out to the hall while we were painting yesterday."

"Who would want to do something like this?" Fishlegs wondered.

"Someone who doesn't want you to be promoted to Obelisk Blue," said Hiccup. He looked up at his friend, "What are you going to do? Your promotion exam is in less than an hour."

Speedfist glanced at the river as he stared at the cards and picked up one. "Leave it to me."

* * *

Speedfist, accompanied by Hiccup, Ragnar, Fishlegs came into the main duel arena where Spitelout and his son, Snotlout, were waiting. "Ah, Speedfist, you made it." He greeted. When he saw Hiccup, Ragnar, Fishlegs, he frowned a bit. "And I see you brought some friends."

"I hope you duel better than the company you keep," Snotlout smirked.

"Wait a second, Snotlout is your test opponent?" Hiccup turned to Speedfist, "Speedfist, he must be the guy who chucked your cards into the ocean!"

"Pardon?" Speedfist asked.

"I don't know what he's talking about, dad, I didn't do a thing." Speedfist denied.

"Oh, is that so?" Everyone turned to see Wolflegs, Astrid and Heather walk in.

"Wolflegs? Astrid? Heather?" said Hiccup looking surprised.

"I saw you Snotlout, when you dumped those cards into the water!" said Astrid. "Normally, I don't like to snitch but you don't mess with someone's deck."

"That's low, Snotlout, even for you," said Hiccup.

"Oh come on, how do you know I wasn't throwing away my own cards?" said Snotlout, still lying. "I guess Bastion and I just have similar decks."

"Liar!" Heather growled.

"Nobody calls me a liar, and nobody calls me a thief!" Snotlout retorted.

"Fine, you're not," said Speedfist. "Let's just get on with our duel, shall we?"

"But Speedfist, what about your deck?" Hiccup asked.

"A good Duellist always keeps a spare deck on hand, or a few." Speedfist unzipped his yellow jacket. "You three saw all my formula on the wall, right? Well…" He spread his blazer to reveal a vest with six card pouches on it. "They were for all my different decks! And each of them is as powerful as the last!"

Snotlout cringed, as he saw his plan for keeping Speedfist from taking the exam had failed. "Fine, keep your six crummy decks, because all I need is this one, which I'll unleash on you for thinking you're better than me."

Speedfist activated his Duel Disk and inserted one of his decks. "You're just a theorem to be solved, Snotlout, a code to be cracked, you're finished!"

"Bring it, you worthless reject!"

"DUEL!"

Snotlout: 4000

Speedfist: 4000

"Get ready! Because here comes the hurt!" said Snotlout starting off. "I summon Chthonian Soldier!" The dark armored warrior appeared. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1400) He then took another card from his hand. "And a card facedown. That'll do it for now."

"Oh will it now?" Speedfist asked.

"Sounds like Speedfist has something up his sleeve." Hiccup commented.

"He works quickly," Astrid said as she, Heather and Wolflegs came up to stand besides Hiccup, Ragnar, Fishlegs.

"I summon Hydrogeddon in attack mode! Hydrogeddon, arise!" A geyser of mud water rose up and created a grey and brown dinosaur with an amphibian tail. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000) "Now attack Chthonian Soldier! Hydro Gust, destroy him!" Bastion's monster let out a blast of water that sprayed and destroyed the soldier.

"Thanks, you just activated my Soldier's special ability!" Snotlout announced. "It causes you to take the same amount of damage to your life points as I do!"

Snotlout: 3600

Speedfist: 3600

"Not bad," Wolflegs commented.

"Speedfist walked right into that one," said Hiccup.

"I activate a special ability also," said Speedfisy, taking out his deck and searches through it. "You see, Snotlout, when Hydrogeddon successfully destroys a monster in battle, I'm allowed to summon another Hydrogeddon from my deck. So rise, Hydrogeddon!" Speedfist took another Hydrogeddon card from his deck and summoned it, creating an exact double of the first monster. "And my battle phase continues which means that now I can wage a direct attack on you, Chazz. Go, Hydrogeddon, Hydro Gust!" The new Hydrogeddon fired its attack. Snotlout screamed as he was knocked down by the attack.

Snotlout: 2000

Speedfist: 3600

"You'll pay for that," said Snotlout getting up. "I activate my trap card Call of the Haunted," Snotlout's facedown trap activated. "This lets me summon a monster back from my graveyard and the monster I choose is… that's right, Chthonian Soldier!" A burst of electricity brought back the Chthonian Soldier. "Next, I activate the spell Infernal Reckless Summon! After I special summon a monster with 1500 ATK or less, we must summon in attack mode, all monsters from our hand, deck, or graveyard that match the monsters we currently have on the field." Snotlout grabbed two cards from his deck. "And I'll bring out my other Chthonian Soldiers!" From the same burst of electricity, two more soldiers appeared side-by-side the first one.

"This looks familiar," said Astrid as Speedfist summoned a third Hydrogeddon.

"This is the same movie used on the when we duelled," said Ragnar.

Heather then looked at Snotlout's field. "Then that means—"

"I activate the equip spell card Chthonian Alliance! The monster this card is equipped to gains 800 attack points for every monster on the field with the same name as it." The Chthonian Soldier on Snotlout's left growled as it was covered in dark energy, and grew three times its normal size. (ATK: 1200-3600) "That brings its attack points up to… well you're the math nerd, you figure it out."

The spectators gasped at the power the soldier was giving off.

"Attack, one of those Hydrogeddons!" Chazz commanded. The giant, super-powered Chthonian Soldier slashed through the middle Hydrogeddon. Bastion grunted from the damage.

Snotlout: 2000

Speedfist: 1600

"Speedfist's life points have gone down by more than half!" said Fishlegs. "He's losing the duel!"

"There's more to winning than life points," Hiccup reminded. "It all depends on how you play your cards."

"Oh yeah," Fishlegs grinned at the reminder of their tag duel.

"Bravo, good show," said Speedfist drawing a card, not even caring about the lost points as he placed another monster card on the field. "But it will be short-lived. Rise, Oxygeddon!" A Pteranadon monster made of green air appeared in a from an Oxygen geyser. (ATK: 1800/DEF: 800) "Now attack one of the 1200 point Chthonian Soldier with Vapor Stream!" The new monster breathed a clear air blast at one of the weaker soldiers, taking it out.

Snotlout: 1400

Speedfist: 1600

"Forget?" Snotlout scoffed. "When my Soldier's destroyed, you take the same amount of damage as I do!"

Snotlout: 1400

Speedfist: 1200

"My turn's not done yet. Next my Hydrogeddon will attack your other Chthonian Soldier!" Once again, Speedfist ordered one of his Hydrogeddons to attack and destroy the Soldier, causing both players to take the same amount of damage from Chthonian Soldier's special ability.

Snotlout: 1000

Speedfist: 600

"Attack me all you want to just hurting yourself," said Snotlout.

"Doesn't even realise that the same tactic Ragnar used against him?" Fishlegs asked.

"Snotlout isn't exactly one for tactics," said Astrid.

"Shame, because if he did he would have known that his Chthonian Soldier was about to lose attack points," said Ragnar.

The large Chthonian Solider lost most of his height and power. (ATK: 3600-2000)

"What's that old saying? No pain no gain?" said Heather.

"It may have cost him a few life points, but Snotlout's monster is only a shadow of its former self," said Wolflegs.

"Last, I'll place this card face-down." A face down card appeared at Speedfist's feet. "That'll do for now."

"Will it? I doubt it, Wiz Kid!" Snotlout taunted as he drew his card. "I sacrifice my Chthonian Soldier and all the cards in my hand in order to summon Infernal Incinerator! Bet you didn't see that coming." He started to laugh as his soldier was engulfed in an inferno sphere.

"Infernal Incinerator!?" The sphere started to explode, covering the field in smoke and from it, a giant fiend salamander appeared with the top half of a Chthonian Solider on the head. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 1800)

"Better break out your calculator because if you can't figure out a way to beat this guy, you're through!" Snotlout laughed. "Face it, Bastion, you have no chance against my Infernal Incinerator," said Snotlout. "Especially since he gains 200 attack points for every monster you have on the field." (ATK: 2800-3400)

"That thing has 3400 attack points?" Hiccup gawked. "That means no matter which monster receives the attack, Bastion's through!"

"Infernal Incinerator, attack with Firestorm Blast!" The monster opened its mouth revealing a row of sharp teeth and launched a huge ball of fire at Oxygeddon.

"Speedfist!" His friends cried as the blast was nearing Bastion's monster.

"I activate my trap card Amorphic Barrier!" A wall of ice rose up around Bastion's monsters. "When I have three or more monsters, this trap card stops my opponent's attack and ends the battle phase. But nice try, Snotlout."

"That was close," said Fishlegs.

"Who cares?" said Snotlout, not caring in the slightest. "One turn, that's all it buys you and then you'll be all mine!"

"I'm afraid there won't be a next turn." Speedfsit declared as he drew his card.

"What?"

"You heard me, and I activate the spell card Bonding H2O." Speedfist inserted a spell that showed a beaker, being poured to create water. "I sacrifice two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon…" The three monsters turned into geysers and combined. "…and summon Water Dragon!" The geysers formed a large serpentine-dragon made of water. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600) "And since the number of monsters on my side of the field has decreased, so does Infernal Incinerator's attack points." (ATK: 3400-3000)

"It doesn't matter, my monster's attack points are still higher than yours." Snotlout smirked.

"Better double check your work," Speedfist warned. "Because I've already done all the math!"

"Done all the math?" Spitelout questioned. "Does that mean that…?"

Hiccup confirmed Spitelout's suspicions. "Bastion had this planned from the beginning."

The Water Dragon created a large tidal wave that washed over Infernal Incinerator, taking away all of its power. (ATK: 0)

"No, it's attack points!" Snotlout cried.

"Indeed, that's Water Dragon's special ability." Speefist explained. "You see when he's out on the field, the attack points of fire attribute and Pyro-Type monsters automatically become 0. Now Water Dragon, attack! Tidal Blast!" The dragon fired a high-powered blast of water that surged over Infernal Incinerator again this time destroying it and knocking Snotlout from the stage and dousing the whole arena in water.

Snotlout: 0

Speedfist: 600 (Winner)

"A well played duel, Snotlout," said Speedfist when Snotlout surfaced and the water started to recede. "But not well enough."

"Pure luck," Snotlout retorted as he spat out some water. "You drew a lucky card and stumbled into the win, that's all!"

"Luck is a loser excuse Snotlout," said Hiccup.

"Indeed, I find that luck tends to favour the prepared," said Speedfist. "And I was prepared to defeat you with half a dozen other cards as well." Snotlout was about to open his mouth before Speedfist continued. "You can deny it all you want, just like how you denied throwing my deck into the ocean."

"Yeah, prove it," Snotlout demanded.

"Well, if you insist," said Speedfist removing a wet card. Immediately, everyone noticed that there were some math equations on the card's face. "Here, a card I fished out with a formula I wrote on it. I suppose you could've written it but then the math would've been wrong, and it's not."

He sighed. "Snotlout, you cheated, you lie, you stole, you loss. You deserve to be demoted."

Snotlout screamed in fury. "This can't happen to me!"

"Speedfist Boilson," said Spitelout, walking up to him. "Congratulations, and welcome to Obelisk Blue."

"Thank you, Dr. Spitelout, but I'm afraid I cannot accept such an invitation at this time."

"What? But why?"

"When I entered this Academy, I made a promise that I would only enter Obelisk Blue when I become the number one student in the freshman class," said Speedfist, turning to Hiccup. "Hiccup, of all the new students, I think that number one student is one of you."

"Does that mean you want to settle this right here?" Hiccup asked.

"Sorry, but not now."

"Why not?"

"Because I have a lot of work to do before I duel you, many formulas to write, theorems to solve, equations to bounce. You're a good Duellists and I want to be ready," Speedfist explained. "Soon my dorm room walls will be filled with new problems and equations and we will have our duel. Just be prepared for it to turn out like that ball game… you know, the one where I struck you out."

"Oh, you'll find that I'm a much better duellist than a baseball player," said Hiccup. "And I would be happy to duel you one day."

"Until then." Speedfist promised.


	13. The Deranged Duellist

Snotlout looked back at the campus with a bag over his shoulder.

"So long Duel Academy," said bitterly. "You demote me, you laugh at me. Well, that's it I had it." He then walked off in a huff. "You won't have me kicking around anymore."

As he walked away from the campus, he noticed a third-year Obelisk walking past him. An Obelisk he knew all too well.

He paused for a moment to look at the Obelisk. "Dagur? I thought he was expelled?" He shrugged. "Ah, well… it's not my problem anymore."

* * *

Hiccup was sitting at his seat taking notes when out of nowhere Fishlegs came rushing into a classroom. "Hiccup, it's awful. Snotlout's gone."

Hiccup blinked. "And that's awful how?"

Fishlegs pondered for a moment. "Gee, I don't know."

"I have to say a man is very too sorry to see him go," said Ragnar.

Dogsbreath have been listening to their conversation and looked at the Obelisks sitting next to him. "Hey, you know I saw Snotlout packing your stuff late last night," he said. "And you know why?"

Clueless just shrugged.

"It's because he lost that Ra."

"Speedfist wasn't it?" Clueless asked.

"And that's Slifer Scum too," said Dogsbreath gesturing at Hiccup.

"Yeah, if you can't beat the ketchup and mustard team good riddance," said another Obelisk.

"What a bunch of jerks," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, if those were the only friends I had I would probably run away to," said Hiccup.

* * *

After class they met up with Astrid and Heather, who were joined by Ruffnut and her twin brother Tuffnut, who was also an Obelisk.

"So you guys heard about Snotlout," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, Tuff just leapt opposite him and he saw him leaving with a bag over his shoulders," said Astrid.

"I did?" said Tuffnut.

"Yes, he kept on wondering whether he had some cool stuff in it," said Ruffnut.

"Guys, can we focus," said Heather.

"Do you think, Snotlout could get into any trouble?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yes," they all said.

"Well, since were so clear on it," said Fishlegs.

"I doubt we can convince him to stay," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, but leaving wouldn't be the smartest thing for him," said Astrid. "I mean he was the top that's duelling prep, but he doesn't have any qualifications to actually go pro and I doubt he can fend for himself."

"Then were going to look for him, aren't we," said Fishlegs.

They all nodded.

"Great, that's just perfect," he muttered.

Unbeknownst to any of them, a pair of beady eyes was watching their every movement as they ventured into the woods.

* * *

"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled. "Come on out!"

"Yeah, you can't just leave!" Ragnar yelled.

"Come out wherever you are!" Fishlegs yelled.

Astrid placed her hands on her hips. "That's it! Snotlout son of a half troll! If this is some kind of trick you better hope we don't find you! You got that!"

Suddenly a flock of birds flew out of the trees spooked by Astrid shouting. Everyone just stared at her totally astonished.

"Yeah, threatening him, that'll bring in running," said Hiccup.

"You know I'm sure is a good reason why Snotlout ran off," said Heather.

"Maybe he wants to live with the wolves," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, let's find him and see if he's been torn to pieces," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup look at the twins disturbingly. "Uh, guys. We want to find him before he gets torn to pieces, besides I doubt he went to live with wolves."

Heather then made her way to a bush. "Well, maybe we could look—"

She was then silenced by someone point into the bush.

"Heather!" Ragnar yelled.

"What grabbed her?" Hiccup yelled.

"I don't know, but if they want their arms in their sockets they better not have hurt her," said Astrid.

They then began running through the forest I could hear the muffled screams of Heather.

"Let her go!" Ragnar yelled through the trees. "If you know what's good for you."

* * *

They kept on running until they reach a clearing and they found their mysterious kidnapper with Heather in his arms. He was wearing an Obelisk blue blazer, but it had tears in it and the guy had a tad too over his left eye. Whoever he was he had a crazy look about him which made him even more dangerous.

"Well, look the cat dragged in," said the kidnapper.

"You put her down right now," Ragnar warned.

"I don't take orders from Slifers," said the kidnapper dismissively. "Besides this is a family matter."

"Family?" said Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs puzzled.

The kidnapper smirked. "I'm her big brother, Dagur."

"What are you doing here, Dagur," said Heather trying to break free from his grip. "You were expelled for bullying."

"I was only showing the new guys who was the boss around here," said Dagur innocently.

"What do you want, Dagur," said Astrid.

"I just want to say hello to my little sister," said Dagur. "Is that so wrong?"

"It is when you try to kidnapper," said Hiccup.

"Listen this is none of your business so why don't you just walk away," said Dagur.

"Oh, we're not walking," said Ragnar taking a step forward and pulling out his Duel Disk. "We're duelling."

Dagur laughed. "You think I would waste my time duelling a Slifer?"

"What's the matter scared?" Ragnar smirked.

"Fine," said Dagur realising Heather and slapping on his Duel Disk. "It's not like this is going to take long." He then looked at Ragnar with a crazed expression. "Let's say we make this more interesting. If I win I can take my sister with no questions asked."

"But if I win you leave this island and never bother Heather again," said Ragnar as he placed his neck in his Duel Disk.

"It's a done deal," said Dagur as he did the same.

"Let's Duel!"

Dagur: 4000

Ragnar: 4000

"I'll go first and I'll start things off by playing one monster facedown on the field," said Dagur as a facedown card appeared on his side of the field. "And that'll end my turn."

"Then it's my move," said Ragnar drawing his card.

Hiccup looked at Heather, who wondered over to them. "So, how good is your brother?"

"He was an excellent duellist," said Heather. "In fact he was one of the best."

"From what I've heard he liked to toy with his opponents before finishing them off," said Astrid.

"I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode," said Ragnar and the armoured knight appeared on the field. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1600) "And now I have attack your monster!"

Gearfried charge of the facedown monster and sliced right through the card with his sword. However, when it flipped up it turned out to be a Cyber Jar. (ATK: 900/ DEF: 900)

"Oh no," said Ragnar.

"I'm afraid so you flipped my Cyber Jar and thanks to its ability all monsters on the field are destroyed," said Dagur smirking. There was a huge explosion and Gearfried was destroyed. "Now we get to draw five cards and if any of them are monsters we can summon them."

"Okay," said Ragnar as he drew his five cards. "I place on monster facedown and Marauding Captain in attack mode." His battle hard captain appeared on his side of the field standing next to the facedown monster he placed. (ATK:1200/ DEF: 400)

"And I'll place mine facedown on the field," said Dagur is another facedown monster appear on this field.

' _What is he up to_ ," Ragnar thought. ' _So far he's only placed monsters facedown on the field. I could attack his monster with my Captain, but I've got a feeling it's defence would be too high. Better to play defensive and on the off into my next turn._ '

"I place one card facedown on the field I'll be for me," said Ragnar discarding a card from his hand.

"My turn," said Dagur he drew his card.

"Dagur's got about 10 cards in his hand," said Fishlegs.

"Which means he's got a lot more options," said Hiccup.

"First flip summon my monster," said Dagur and his facedown monster revealed itself to be a man with robotic parts and cables exiting from his back. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 2000). "Say hello to Jinzo-Jector."

"So is using a Jinzo deck," said Hiccup.

"This is in good, Jinzo is one of the toughest monsters in the game," said Fishlegs.

"And it's about to get hold a lot worse," said Heather.

"Now by tribute in my monster I can add one Jinzo monster card from my deck and add it to my hand," said Dagur as his monster vanished and he began to look through his deck. "And I think I'll choose the original Jinzo. Next I get to see every single one of your facedown cards and if the only traps among them I can special summon a Jinzo monster for every track car that's revealed."

Ragnar can do anything as attractive revealed itself to be his Sakuretsu Armour card.

"Now that you have one strap I can summon one Jinzo to the field and I think you know which one is going to be," said Dagur. Then they saw a very tall android appear on his field wearing very heavy armour. "And as long as he's on the field all our trap cards are useless. But I'm not finished yet, not by a long shot, because now I summon Jinzo #7 to the field."

They saw smaller android appear on the field, his armour was more the mix match as if he were some sort of prototype. (ATK: 500/ DEF: 400)

"This is good," said Hiccup.

"Now Jinzo attack is Marauding Captain with Cyber Energy Shock!" Dagur ordered.

Jinzo then created an orb of energy and tossed it straight at Marauding Captain which destroyed him on the spot.

Dagur: 4000

Ragnar: 2800

"And Jinzo #7 special ability allows him to attack you directly!" said Dagur.

Ragnar braced himself as Jinzo #7 charge towards him and punched him in the chest.

Dagur: 4000

Ragnar: 2300

"This is so not good," said Fishlegs.

"Man, your brother is kicking butt," said Ruffnut looking at Heather.

"Yeah, his kicking butt more times than anyone kicking butt," said Tuffnut. Everyone just stared at him blankly. "What?"

"Let's try and not be impressed," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, because if he loses this thing will be to see Heather again," said Astrid.

"Now I'll equip Jinzo with the spell card Amplifier and thanks to this guard my traps are no longer affected by Jinzo's effect and I think you know what these cards are going to be," said Dagur placing two facedown on the field.

He then smiled evilly at the Ragnar as he discarded several cards from his hand. "Do you wanna surrender now? I mean I'm clearly way out of your league."

"Funny," said Ragnar as he drew his card. "Funny I was about to say that you were out of my league."

"Well, certainly nothing wrong with his confidence," said Astrid.

"Trust me, when Ragnar gets a look like that you know he's going to win," said Hiccup.

"First things first flip summon my monster," said Ragnar. His facedown monster turned out to be his Queen's Knight and the female knight stood ready for battle. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1600)

"Next I'll play King's Knight to join my Queen," said Ragnar slamming down his King's Knight card onto his Duel Disk. His knight stood right next to his Queen and the two of them nodded. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400)

"And when both King's and Queen's Knight I can complete my royal trio by summoning Jack's Knight from my deck," said Ragnar as he looked through his deck and summoned his third knight. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1000)

"Not bad, but neither of your Kinght's have the strength to take on my Jinzo," said Dagur. He laughed as he looked down at his facedown cards. ' _And if you're dumb enough to attack and activate my Ring of Destruction trap card and destroy your monster and we'll both take damage equal to its attack points, but thanks to my Ring of Defence I'll be protected. I can then finish him off on my next turn. This duel is in the bag._ '

"While it's true my three knights are no match for your Jinzo, but that's what I had planned," said Ragnar as he sought to the card from his hand. "Because I'm going to combine my three nights together with the power of Polymerization."

"What?" Dagur gasped.

"I fuse together my three Knights into one and bring out the most powerful Knight that had ever taken up a sword," said Ragnar as his three knights clashed swords together and were suddenly surrounded by a vortex. "I now summon Arcane Knight Joker!"

Everyone stared in awe as Ragnar's new monster appeared on his side of the field. This new knight held both magnificent sword and shield you and his black and silver armour gleamed in the sun. (ATK: 3800/ DEF: 2500)

"3800 attack points!" Dagur gasped.

"Wow!" the twins gasped.

"And I'm not done, because I removed from play Gearfried the Iron Knight and Marauding Captain in order to summon my Templar Knight," said Ragnar and knight in in shining armour with the Red Cross symbol on his chest appeared on his side of the field. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 1800)

"Now that the line-up," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, he summoned to kicking butt monsters on the same turn," said Ruffnut.

"But they don't have enough power to end this duel," said Astrid.

"Now I activate the spell card the Allied Forces," said Ragnar and his continuous spell card appear on his side of the field. "Now my Warriors gained 200 extra attack points for each Warrior and Spellcaster on my side of the field. So, that means my two knight gain 400 additional attack points."

They watched as his two monsters gain strength. (ATK: 3800-4200), (ATK: 2500-2900)

"Now he has the power to win this duel," said Hiccup.

"I hate to be Dagur right now," said Astrid.

Dagur just stared at Ragnar's monsters. ' _Okay, maybe this kid is a lot stronger than I thought he would be._ ' He then smirked. ' _Still if he attacks how destroy his precious knight and I'll win this duel._ '

"Okay, Knight Joker attack his Jinzo with Royal Swordplay!" Ragnar commanded.

Knight Joker rushed straight towards Jinzo with his sword held high ready to deal the devastating blow.

Dagur laughed maniacally as revealed his facedown. "You fell into my trap! You can say goodbye to your precious knight thanks to my Ring of Destruction trap card!"

The all watched in horror as a ring circled around Knight Joker preventing him from moving.

"But they'll both lose!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Not unless that card is what I think it is," said Hiccup.

"And thanks to my Ring of Defence I won't be going bye bye," said Dagur with revealing his spell card.

A ring then appeared in front of Dagur acting as a shield.

"I activate my Knight Joker special ability," said Ragnar.

At once Dagur stopped laughing. "What?"

"By discarding one card from my hand I can negate any card effect that targets my monster so long as the same card I discarded is the same type as the card effect," said Ragnar. "So I'll discard Royal Decree and your trap is disarmed."

"No!"

Ragnar discarded his Royal Decree and suddenly a blight glow appeared on his Knight Joker and seconds later the ring surrounding him was destroyed.

"It can't be!" Dagur yelled.

"Oh, but it is," said Ragnar. "Now if I remember correctly my Knight was about to destroy your Jinzo."

Dagur could only watch as Knight Joker slashed Jinzo's pieces with his mighty sword. He was then blown off his feet by a powerful shockwave.

Dagur: 2200

Ragnar: 2300

Dagur rubbed his head as if he got run over by a car.

"Oh, and Dagur," said Ragnar. Dagur looked up at Ragnar. "Don't forget I have another monster ready to attack."

Dagur looked at Templar Knight in horror. He was about to lose and there was nothing he could do to stop the attack.

"Templar Knight attack Jinzo #7 with Holy Sabre!" Ragnar commanded.

Dagur just gazed in horror as Templar Knight raised his cleaning sword and sliced Jinzo #7 right throw the middle.

Dagur: 0

Ragnar: 2300 (Winner)

"It can't be," said Dagur pointing at Ragnar. "There's no way I could lose to a Slifer."

"You know, a lot of Obelisks have lost to Slifer's recently," said Ruffnut look at her brother.

"Yeah, why is that?" Tuffnut asked.

"You did it!" Heather yelled wrapping Ragnar arms around his neck.

"Was there any doubt?" said Ragnar laughing as he tried to free himself from Heather's grip.

Dagur clenched his fists and glared at Ragnar before charging straight towards him. However, before he could get anywhere close to Ragnar someone grabbed his arm.

"I don't think so, Dagur," said a familiar voice. They all turn and found Gobber glaring down at Dagur.

"Gobber?" the all gasped.

Gobber then pulled Dagur towards him. "Now, if you do what is good for you you'd leave this island right now."

Gobber then released him and Dagur walked off muttering to himself and glared at Ragnar as he disappeared into the distance.

"That was a close one," said Heather.

"No kidding," said Hiccup looking at Gobber. "If you hadn't shown up Gobber, who knows what Dagur would have done."

"Yeah, how did you find us?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Bit of an expert tracker, spent my time in the army," Gobber shrugged. "How do you think I lost an arm and a leg?"

"Yeah, but why were you looking for us in the first place?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, I wanted to tell you that Snotlout is okay," said Gobber.

"That's good news," said Hiccup.

"Of course, there is some bad news as well," said Gobber. They all stared at him. "Here, come with me."

* * *

Gobber soon took them down to the docks. "You see, I tracked him here to docks, but when I arrived he was already leaving on his family's personal yacht."

"So we went through all that for nothing," Fishlegs groaned.

"I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of him," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, he does seem to turn up like a bad penny," said Astrid crossing her arms.

"One thing is for sure, good rivals are hard to find," said Hiccup looking out to sea.

"Yes, but you know what is not?" said Gobber smirking slightly. "Class…" They all stared in horror they had all completely lost track of time while they were searching through the woods. "And since you cut out early today we got some catching up to do… so let's go."

All of them groaned.


	14. A Spirit Summoned

An Obelisk Blue was running through the forest. His face was pale as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Help!" he cried. He kept looking over his shoulder as if he was expecting someone to appear. ' _I can't believe it's happening. I can't believe it came alive… and took my friends._ ' He kept on running through the forest trying to find anyone who could help him. "SOMEONE! HELP!"

Hiccup and his friends were in the Slifer Dorm. All of them had decided to stay instead of going home for winter break. Hiccup and Ragnar were at a table duelling while Fishlegs reading a book called ' _Duelling for Dummies_ ', Gobber was having a chat with Banner as they prepared dinner.

"I can't believe everyone left for winter break," said Hiccup. "The campers feel so empty."

"On the bright side a lot more food for us," said Ragnar.

"Yes, you wonder why all we've been eating his marshmallows?" said Banner as he and Gobber cooked some marshmallows over a grill.

"A mystery for the ages," said Gobber.

Then all of a sudden something crashed right through the window and everyone turned to find an Obelisk Blue, who were just flung himself at the window.

"Uh… guys?" said Fishlegs looking down on the Obelisk.

Hiccup helped the Obelisk up and once all the fear on his face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I-I have," said the Obelisk.

Hiccup blinked. "Come again?"

"Jinzo! The duelling card!" the Obelisk cried.

"Gobber, Banner you might want to call the school nurse," said Hiccup as everyone approached the Obelisk.

"I know you," said Banner. "Your name is Olaf. You in my para duelling class."

"Yeah, that's right Professor Banner and everything you said was right about Duel Spirts being real and—it's all true," said Olaf clutching Banner's leg.

"Better make that the school therapist," said Ragnar.

"Just calm down, Olaf, and tell me everything that happened from the very beginning," said Banner calmly.

"Yes Professor," said Olaf. "A while back I told some of my friends about class and how under certain conditions Duel Spirts could come to life. Well, we started to try and create those conditions. Even though we knew the Academy for bids it."

"For good reason," said Gobber. "We do not want a repeat of what happened at the Abandoned Dorm."

"Anyway, we did a couple of times a nothing ever happened," Olaf continued. "Until yesterday. Maybe it was because we used our bed sheets as cloaks or took bath candles from the girl's dorm, but anyway this time something was different. You see we all put our hand on a mystic box said the chant and it happened. The mystic box began to spell out ' _give me three and I'll be free._ '" He looked up at Banner. "We thought he meant cards."

"Oh, dear me, no. Jinzo's appetite would never be satiated with mere cards," said Banner. "This is just awful."

Fishlegs looked extremely nervous. "Wait, what did the three main, Olaf?"

Hiccup had a pretty good idea and Olaf confirmed his suspicion. "It meant people."

"People?"

"Yes, and unfortunately we had agreed… before we knew better," said Olaf.

"So, your friends—"

"They're both gone," Olaf explained. "I've looked everywhere, but it's like they just vanished into thin air. First it was Sven and then Agnar. And I know is just going too been me next."

Fishlegs backed away quivering uncontrollably. Hiccup and Ragnar on the other hand is exchanged looks.

"You sure they just didn't go home for winter break, Olaf?" Hiccup asked hopefully.

"I hoped, but I called their parents and they didn't know where they were," said Olaf. Gobber and Banner exchange grim looks. "I doubt they can make it home anyway, after all I tried to leave the island. But couldn't… you see what I got to the ferry there he was in a trench coat, his face hidden away by a scarf and hat… waiting for me."

He then began to shiver uncontrollably. "There's no escape."

Then all of a sudden the entire room went dark. They then heard a girlish scream followed by Pharaoh hissing.

"What was that?" Fishlegs' voice cried.

"I don't know, but would you kindly get off my back, Legs" said Ragnar, who was struggling to support both his and Fishlegs weight. "It could have just been a fuse."

"Or a lightbulb," said Banner.

"Or maybe it was me," said a cyber like voice.

They all turned and found the ghostly figure of Jinzo, who was indeed wearing a trench coat, scarf and hat. They nearly jumped out of their skin when they saw him and then they notice under his arms was unconscious Olaf.

"Let him go, Jinzo," Hiccup warned.

"We had a deal," said Jinzo, before he ran off.

"Not if we can stop you," said Ragnar as the old chased after Jinzo.

* * *

They chased Jinzo through the forest, but they lost him.

"Great, we've lost him," said Hiccup.

"Maybe we can go back to the dorm where it's nice and safe," Fishlegs offered.

"No," said Hiccup looking around for Jinzo.

Then they noticed Pharaoh's hair sticking up on end and hissing at a nearby bush.

"Pharaoh? What's wrong?" Banner asked.

"I think sense him," said Ragnar.

"Well, only one way to find out," said Hiccup running right where Pharaoh was pointing.

"I was afraid you'd say that," said Fishlegs following after him.

* * *

They soon found themselves in what looked like us very small powerplant.

"What is this place?" Fishlegs asked.

"This is the central power station for the entire island," said Gobber.

"But I don't see Jinzo anywhere," said Banner.

"Well, I see Olaf," said Hiccup pointing at Olaf's unconscious body. He then made his way over to it. "Don't worry we're coming."

The electricity shot out from the generators blocking Hiccup's path to Olaf. Then they saw a holographic form of Jinzo appearing right in front of them.

"You leave him alone," said Jinzo.

"Jinzo?" Fishlegs gasped hiding behind Ragnar.

"What's going on, Professors?" Ragnar asked looking at Banner and Gobber. "How is Jinzo appearing like that?"

"It is the electricity," said Gobber.

"He's using the coming to power himself up, he is a clever one," said Banner twitching in pain as Pharaoh's claws dug into him.

"Let Olaf go Jinzo," Hiccup demanded. "Beginning a third sacrifice so bad well then…" He paused for a brief moment. "Then just take me instead."

"Hiccup what are you doing?" Ragnar yelled.

"You do admit more vitality than this human," said Jinzo thoughtfully. He then looked at Hiccup. "I'll take you up on your offer."

"Fine, but on one condition though," said Hiccup. "You and I duel. If you win you take my life energy, but I win and you give back the other two you took."

"A duel?" said Jinzo. "Very well, I should be able to be sustained by this electrical limbo long enough for a match." Suddenly electricity began to dance around them. "First I'll beat you, then I'll consume you."

"Yeah, well see," said Hiccup slamming his deck into his Duel Disk and activating it. "Now bring it on, Jinzo."

Jinzo: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

Hiccup drew his hand from his Duel Disk, but Jinzo instead was playing with holographic cards that were appearing thanks electrical field around them.

"Yes, let's," said Jinzo looking at his hand as his first card appeared. "First, I summon Malice Doll of Demise in attack mode." They watched as a creepy looking doll with an axe in its hand appeared on his side of the field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1700)

"And next I activate the spell card Ectoplasmer." A spell card appeared on Jinzo's side of the field. "This fiendish spirit allows each player to sacrifice one monster at the end of their turn. Then half of that monsters attack points are dealt to the opposing player as damage."

Hiccup watched as Jinzo put it to action. A spirit of shot out of Malice's body and then flew straight towards Hiccup and he felt himself getting weaker when he got hit by it.

Jinzo: 4000

Hiccup: 3200

"Oh no, Hiccup is already falling behind," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup looked up at Jinzo and turns the tension on the Ectoplasmer card. ' _That a continuous spell card, here we use it's magic every turn. But then so will I._ '

"All right, it's my turn," said Hiccup as he drew. He looked at his hand and it wasn't the best. "Only one monster, but it'll have to do. I summon Dragon Knight Barf in attack mode." Barf appeared on his side of the field. (ATK: 1200/ Def: 1200) "And thanks to a special ability I get to add Dragon Knight Belch to my hand as well."

Hiccup began to look through his deck and placed Belch in his hand. "Next I'll play three cards facedown the field," said Hiccup as three facedown cards appeared in front of him. "Now, Barf attack his life points directly!"

Barf ran towards Jinzo and punching straight through the chest and he roared in agony.

Jinzo: 2800

Hiccup: 3200

"And now I'm going to use your spell card against you, because due to the effect of Ectoplasmer I have to sacrifice Barf and give another punch of your life points," said Hiccup as Barf's spirit exited from his body.

Barf's spirit then punched Jinzo making them lose even more life points.

Jinzo: 2200

Hiccup: 3200

"That's the spirit!" Fishlegs cried. "I mean that's the way you be the spirit… I mean… ah, you know."

"Looks like that Ectoplasmer card of yours is doing more damage to you than me," Hiccup smirked.

"For now, said Jinzo as it can't materialise in front of him. "After all, since Malice Doll of Demise were sent to the graveyard due to the effect of a spell card, he automatically resurrects." They watched as Malice appeared in front of Jinzo.

"Speaking of spell cards, I'll activate one of my own Emergency Provisions," said Hiccup revealing one of his facedown cards. "Now all I have to do is destroy one of my facedown is and I gave 1000 light points."

In one of his facedown cards was turned to pixels of his life points began to increase.

Jinzo: 2200

Hiccup: 4200

"Oh, and since the card I destroyed was Dragon Knight Emblem, I get a look through my deck and add a Dragon Knight and place in my hand." Hiccup began to look through his deck. "And I choose Dragon Knight Torch."

"Nice, not only was able to increase his life points, but thanks to that combo he to add another monster to his hand," said Ragnar.

"I summon Emissary of the Afterlife in attack mode," said Jinzo as someone representing the Grim Reaper appeared on his field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 600)

"Though, he he could have done by putting some defence up," said Ragnar.

"And since you have no monsters out, I can rage a direct attack! Sickle Slasher!" Jinzo commanded.

"Not so fast, I play Dragon Knight Reinforcements," said Hiccup revealing his trap card. "Now I get a look at the top card of my deck and if it's a monster I summon it." Hiccup draw his card and smiled. "And guess what it is. So I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang in attack mode!"

Hookfang appeared on the field swinging his mace like a maniac. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000)

However, Jinzo didn't stop the attack and both Hookfang and Emissary were destroyed.

"Foolish mortal, by sending Emissary to the graveyard his special effect is activated, now each of us can take a monster from our decks and place them in our hand and I choose Thousand-eye Idol," said Jinzo.

Hiccup however wasn't looking for his deck.

"Why in the adding a monster?" Fishlegs asked.

"Because Emissary's ability only allows him to add a level 3 or below Normal Type Monster," said Gobber.

"Yeah, and Hiccup doesn't have any normal monsters in his deck," said Ragnar.

"Now to continue with my turn," said Jinzo looking down at his only remaining monster. "And Malice Doll's attack. Go Cleaver Hever!"

Malice's hatchet went straight through Hiccup almost making him topple over.

Jinzo: 2200

Hiccup: 2600

"And don't forget the magic of Ectoplasm," said Jinzo as he sacrificed Malice once again.

Jinzo: 2200

Hiccup: 1800

"Have this duel was an excellent idea," said Jinzo. "It's much better to enjoy something slowly rather than taking it all at once."

Hiccup just gave him a puzzled look.

"Hiccup, your legs the fading," said Fishlegs pointing.

Hiccup looked down and saw that most of his lower body was fading. "What's happening?"

"I'm collecting on our deal," said Jinzo. "You've lost half your life points, so I'm taking have your life force and it feels good."

"There's no way I'm going to let you take me, Jinzo," said Hiccup as he drew his next card. "I'll duel to the end. I activate my Polymerization spell card and fuse together both Dragon Knight Torch and Fanghook. In order to summon Dragon Knight Archer!"

Then Torch and a warrior that resembled Hookfang only, he was shorter and had purple and yellow armour. The two young warriors fuse together and formed a warrior with red and purple dragon-like armour with a bow in his hand and a quiver strapped to his back. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1200)

"And he has a special ability. Usually once per turn I'm able to destroy one spell or trap card on my opponent's side of the field and I get to draw an extra card," said Hiccup. "So you can say goodbye to your Ectoplasm."

Archer then end his bow at the Ectoplasm spell card and fired an arrow and it shattered into pixels and Hiccup drew his extra card.

"Nice, now Hiccup won't keep taking damage from Jinzo sacrificing his cards," said Ragnar.

"Now, it's time for Archer to attack you directly. Go Dragon Fire Arrow!" Hiccup commanded.

Archer drew another arrow from his quiver and aimed it straight towards Jinzo. Then the tip was set on fire and relaunched it straight at him.

Jinzo: 800

Hiccup: 1800

Ragnar and the others cheered as Jinzo's life points when down.

"You're lucky you then had a body for that one," said Hiccup. He then picked his Draining Shield trap card. "Now I'll play a facedown and end my turn."

"My draw," said Jinzo and it can't materialise in front of him. It was impossible to tell from his expression, because of his mask, but Hiccup swore he was smiling. "And I couldn't ask for a better one. With this card my resurrection is all the closer."

"What card?" Hiccup demanded.

Jinzo just laughed. "I activate Malice Doll's special ability and re-summon him," he said as Malice appeared in front of him. Next second he began to fade. "But only so I can sacrifice him in order to conjure… Jinzo!"

Suddenly Jinzo vanished and electricity sparked everywhere and then about of lightning hitting on the ground. Then appearing in front of them was Jinzo himself. (ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1500)

"You've gotta be kidding me," said Hiccup. "You can't just draw yourself."

"I just did and now I can attack you personally," said Jinzo as a orb of energy appeared in his hand. "Cyber Energy Shock! Destroy the Archer!"

The orb slammed into Archer and he was destroyed instantly.

Jinzo: 800

Hiccup: 1200

Hiccup noticed that his body was faded from the waist down now and Jinzo just laughed. "Your next."

"This is bad," said Ragnar. "With Jinzo out on the field all his traps are useless."

"All right, it's my move," said Hiccup as he drew. "And I summon Dragon Knight Belch in defence mode." Belch then appeared on the field in a defence position. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1200). "And with that I'll end my turn."

"That's it?" said Fishlegs. "But that's hardly a defence."

"There again is not much he can do not with Jinzo on the field," said Ragnar. "It could be that he's waiting for something."

"Ready for more pain?" Jinzo asked as his next car materialised in front of him. "I summon Spirt Caller in attack mode."

Then a man in a robe appeared on the field. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1000)

' _Here it comes_ ," Hiccup thought brace himself for the attack.

"And then I'll attack your knight with Cyber Energy Shock!" Jinzo roared as he fired another orb of energy at Belch. Belch was instantly destroyed. "Now Spirit Caller will attack you directly. Go, Breath from Beyond!"

Spirit Caller's eyes then turned red and he opened his mouth which was for fangs and send a powerful raw straight at Hiccup.

Hiccup roared in pain as his life points dropped.

Jinzo: 800

Hiccup: 200

Now his body was fading from the neck down.

"Hiccup isn't looking too good," said Fishlegs.

"He can't take another hit," said Ragnar.

"Finally, I'll acquit myself with the spell card Amplifier," said Jinzo as a metal dome appeared on his head. "With this, I'm not bound by my own special ability any longer. Now I can use any trap card I please. So, I'm certain you can guess what this facedown might be."

They watched as a facedown card appeared behind Jinzo.

"This is bad," said Ragnar. "Now Hiccup is behind points, monsters and traps too."

"Your demise is imminent," said Jinzo.

"I don't think so," said Hiccup as he drew his card. "But I'll play my Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two extra cards." Hiccup drew his two cards, they want exactly what he needed, but they can buy him some time. "Okay, now I play Dragon Knight Scaldy in attack mode!" The water knight then appeared on the field. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1100). "And next give a bit more power with Dragon Knight Crossbow! The monster equipped with this get is attack points doubled." Scaldy grabbed the crossbow and aimed it at Jinzo's field. (ATK: 800-1600)

"And now I have attack your Spirit Caller with Rapidfire Arrow Head!" Hiccup yelled.

Scaldy aimed the crossbow and fired several arrows at Spirit Caller. Each and every single one of them landed their mark on the monster and he exploded.

"Well done," said Jinzo. "By destroying Spirit Caller you walked right into my trap!" Then the facedown behind Jinzo revealed itself. "Spirit Barrier! This keeps me from taking damage as long there is a monster on my field and in case you forgot there is… me."

"You're still just phantom to me," said Hiccup. ' _Though I am up to my neck in trouble, literally_.'

"Now that turn was pathetic," said Jinzo. "Almost has perfected as I'm gonna make your knight look."

Jinzo then blasted Scaldy with an orb of energy and it was destroyed instantly. However, Hiccup's life points in change.

"What happened?" Jinzo demanded.

"Guess I forgot to mention when the monster equipped with Dragon Knight Crossbow is attacked all I have to do is send my equipped spell to the graveyard and I take no damage."

"That buys you one turn," said Jinzo.

"And that's all I need," said Hiccup as he drew his card.

"How come your opponent seemed to get uglier and uglier?" Toothless asked as he appeared behind Hiccup.

"I don't know, dumb luck?" said Hiccup.

Jinzo looked surprised to see Toothless. "A spirit?"

"He's a friend first and a spirit second," said Hiccup. "Which probably explains why he doesn't need to snack on human souls in order to maintain its presence on the living world."

"Yeah, human souls are so disgusting," said Toothless.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at him. "You're not helping." He then turned her attention on Jinzo. "Okay, now I play Dragon Knight Charity!" He revealed a spell card showing several Dragon Kinght, including Toothless, Stormfly and an unknown one giving food out to children. "Now since I have more than Five Dragon Knight's in my graveyard I get a draw three cards, but if I don't play any of them I take 500 point of damage for each one I didn't use."

"What could he be thinking?" Fishlegs asked.

"Like I said he's looking for something," said Ragnar then his eyes widened. "And I think I may know what that is."

Hiccup drew his three cards and nodded. "Now I send Dragon Knight's Stormfly and Meatlug to the Graveyard! This allows me to summon Dragon Knight Skull!"

Then suddenly appearing on the field was a feeble looking man with long brown hair. He wasn't even wearing any armour, the only thing he was wearing was a loincloth, in fact was a wonder that he could actually stand. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 0)

"No attack points?" said Jinzo. "Are you trying to lose on purpose?"

"No, because while he starts out weak, he gained 300 attack points and defence points for every Dragon in the graveyard," said Hiccup. "Oh, and in case you didn't know all Dragon Knight are considered Dragons while in the Graveyard."

"No!" Jinzo yelled.

Then suddenly the spirits of Hiccup's fallen Dragon Knight appeared behind Skull. Then suddenly their essence seeped into Skull and they were blinded by a blight glow. When the glow faded they found Skull standing there in grey dragon-like armour that resembled bones. (ATK: 0-2400/ DEF: 0-2400)

"Okay, they're even now," said Gobber.

"But it will be enough," said Fishlegs.

"Wait, Hiccup still had one card in his hand," said Ragnar.

"I now activate Dragon Knight Armour!" Hiccup yelled showing a card which had a picture of Dragon Knight Windshear wearing Stormfly's armour. "Now all I have to do is look for my deck and send one Dragon Knight to the grave and then Skull gains its name and special abilities and I choose Dragon Knight Toothless."

"No!" Jinzo yelled.

"That's right and since I said another Dragon to the graveyard Skull gets a power boost," said Hiccup.

Skull began to glow. (ATK: 2400-2700/ DEF: 2400-2700)

"And since he has Toothless' powers now whenever you destroy the monster you take damage equal to that monsters attack points," said Hiccup. They watched as the spirit of Toothless entered into Skull.

"It can't be?" said Jinzo.

"I'm afraid it is, now Skull attack Jinzo with Dragon Bone Sword!" Hiccup commanded.

Skull raised his sword that looked as if it was made of dragon bone. He then charged at Jinzo and brought his sword down upon him.

Jinzo: 500

Hiccup: 200

With the monster card gone, Jinzo was now back to an electrical hologram.

"And don't forget he has Toothless power which means 2400 point of damage are coming your way!"

Jinzo looked up just in time to see Skull raising the palm of his hand before covering him in flames. Jinzo screamed in agony as the last of his points dropped to zero.

Jinzo: 0

Hiccup: 200 (Winner)

Then suddenly Jinzo began to glow as a large dome of energy consumed them all and then everything went black.

* * *

When Hiccup opened his eyes he found it was morning and found the others were beginning to stir.

"What happened?" said Ragnar rubbing his head.

"I say it's all over," said Hiccup noticing to other bodies next to Olaf, who had to be his friends that Jinzo took.

"They're all back safe and sound," said Banner in a sigh of relief.

"You think they know what happened?" Fishlegs asked.

"Probably be best if they forgot," said Hiccup.

"He's right," said Ragnar. "Duel Spirits aren't just real they're dangerous."

"Probably be best if we let them sleep it off," said Gobber. "Only when they wake up they'll just think it was all a dream."

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," said Hiccup rubbing his stomach.

They then headed back to the dorm in order to enjoy the rest of their winter break.

* * *

Dragon Knight Fanghook

ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800

3 stars

FIRE

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. You can special summon this card if Dragon Knight Hookfang is on your side of the field. This card is unaffected by trap cards.

Dragon Knight Skull

ATK: 0/ DEF: 0

7 stars

EARTH

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. You can special summon this card by sending two Dragon Knight Cards from your hand to the graveyard. This card gains 300 attack and defence points for every Dragon in either players Graveyard.

Dragon Knight Archer

ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1200

6 stars

FIRE

Warrior/ Fusion/ Effect

This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card is treated as a Dragon-type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. Once per turn you can destroy one spell or trap card on the opposing side of the field and then draw one card.

Dragon Knight Crossbow

Equip Spell Card

You can only equip this card to a Dragon Knight monster with 1000 or lower attack points. The equipped monster attack points at doubled and you take no battle damage involving this card. You can remove this card from your Graveyard to Special Summon one Dragon Knight monster with 1000 or lower attack points from your Graveyard.

Card image: A crossbow with a dragon shaped muzzle.

Dragon Knight Charity

Spell Card

This card can only be activated if there are five or more Dragon Knights in your graveyard. You can draw three extra cards from your deck. At the end of the turn you take 500 point of damage for each card you didn't activate.

Card image: Dragon Knight's Toothless, Stormfly and Skull giving away gifts to children.

Dragon Knight Armour

Spell Card

Target 1 face up Dragon Knight monster you control: send 1 "Dragon Knight" monster from your Deck to the Graveyard, and if you do, that target's name becomes the send monster's name and it gains its abilities (while keeping its own), until the End Phase.

Card image: Dragon Knight Windshear wearing Dragon Knight Stormfly's armour.


	15. Courting Astrid

After winter break breezed through, Duel Academy re-opened the doors for classes again. It was nice seeing everyone again, though mostly Astrid and Heather.

Right now, gym class was running and everyone present in class right now was playing tennis with pairs. Hiccup and Ragnar were playing against Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

The main reason why Hiccup didn't like sports was because of his prosthetic, even though he was wearing one that well-suited for sports. It was still awkward running around trying to hit the ball with his racket.

Ragnar wasn't any better, he kept on hitting the ball too hard making it go over their heads or it shot out in random directions.

"Come on," Hiccup moaned. "Would someone tell me what does tennis have to do with duelling?" He asked as Ragnar returned the ball.

"Everything!" Tuffnut replied. "Taking turns, thinking on your feet and the more you play…" He paused for a moment to hit the ball in the air, heading right for Hiccup. "…the better you'll do!"

"In that case…" Hiccup leaped into the air to deal a powerful strike, but at a bad angle as the tennis ball curved away from the court he was at to the neighbouring one, and it was about to hit Astrid. "Astrid, heads up!" He yelled as the ball was closing in on the Obelisk's face… until someone got into the line of fire and deflected it away from her. However, he deflected the ball over to someone else and that someone was Spitelout.

"That's Dr. Spitelout…" The Obelisk Headmaster was currently refereeing another tennis match, when the tennis ball came in and nailed him right in the eye, knocking him down.

Meanwhile, the one who blocked the shot was now visible, a young man with brown hair wearing a tennis uniform made for Duel Academy, landing a few inches in front of Astrid.

"Thank you…" said Astrid in half-surprise to the guy in front of her.

"Astrid!" Ruffnut came over to check on her friend as Heather turned and watched. "You almost got creamed, are you okay?"

"Yeah, would you like me to carry you to the nurse?" The brown-haired guy said, turning to face the girls, flashing Ruffnut a grin…which ensnared them right off the bat. Heather just rolled her eyes.

Astrid narrowed her eyes. "No, thank you." He then started to look at her with a dreamy look making Astrid crossing her arms. "Do you need me to carry you to the nurse?"

"Naw, it's just that…I've seen you from Obelisk Blue, not that I've had the chance of talking to you…" The brown-haired man said, who was obviously ensnared by Astrid as he grasped Astrid hand in a gentlemanly… that was his biggest mistake. Astrid then twisted his wrist and glared at him.

"If you touch me again I'll break your wrist," she warned.

"Noted," he said wincing.

Astrid then released him and he rubbed his hand trying to get some feeling back into it. "Anyway," he said as he started to walk away. "Back to my match…um, what was the score? I think it was... love-something…"

Everyone just stared as he went off.

* * *

At the nurse's office, Spitelout was getting treated for his black eye while ordering Hiccup to come with him for his punishment.

"Look, I'm really, really, really, really, really sorry for your eye," said Hiccup. "How's that?"

"Nope…still not good enough," Spitelout fumed as Gothi, who was there also, swung his head over to her as she doused the black eye in a bag of ice. "A little harder next time, my vertebrae are still intact!" He said angrily to the nurse.

"You know Dr. Spitelout, I saw the incident. And technically, Hiccup wasn't even the one who hit you with that ball." Gothi stated trying to calm the angry doctor to no effect. "If you don't mind me saying."

"I do mind!" Spitelout retorted, pointing to the boys. "Because they were the ones that started it, I'm sure of it! I saw with my own two eyes!" Gothi gasped and sweat-dropped as the Doctor corrected himself. "Well one eye now…"

Hiccup just smiled. "Care to elaborate on what's so funny?" Spitelout asked as turned his head in Hiccup's direction.

"Nothing… nothing," said Hiccup. "So, what are you going to do to be? Are you gonna kick me out of sports or something?"

Spitelout smirked at the Slifer. "Actually I have a much more fitting punishment for you." He declared. "I'll make you play and under the tutelage of the tennis captain, to whip you into shape!"

"Can this day get any better," Hiccup moaned."

* * *

In the ladies' locker room, Astrid was putting up her gym clothes in their lockers after putting their normal academy clothes on.

"I can't believe Hiccup is getting punished by Spitelout," said Heather, who is leaning against a locker. "He never hit him."

"You know Spitelout; get him mad and anyone in the way is in trouble," Astrid replied.

"Hey Astrid!" Both turned to see Ruffnut, back in her Academy uniforms, with a smile.

"I found out about that hot tennis guy for you," said Ruffnut.

Astrid narrowed her eyes. "Funny, because I don't remember asked you to find out about anything!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Ruffnut waved off. "Anyway, that guy is Harald Rookson as in the Rookson Sporting Goods store chain! He's a 3rd year Obelisk Blue!"

"Okay, so…" said Astrid tiredly. "Great for him."

"Great? A boy that's both rich and a total hottie?" said Ruffnut "That's not great Astrid, that's boyfriend material and Harald's so your type!"

"Did you forget that she nearly broke his wrist?" said Heather.

Astrid looked at Ruffnut furiously. "Listen, I'm just not looking for a boyfriend right now… Or ever!"

"I wouldn't say that," said Heather giggled when Astrid frowned with a blush as they thought of Hiccup.

"Go scoop up Ragnar or something," she countered.

Just as she said his name, Ragnar came running past with Fishlegs right behind him.

"Speak of the devil," said Heather.

"Where's the lousy tennis team?" said Fishlegs.

Ragnar noticed the Obelisk girls near the locker room and started to jog in place. "Astrid, do you know where the tennis team meets?"

"Out on the courts, Rag." She replied. "What on Midgard is going on?"

"It's the most unfair thing ever! Spitelout making the tennis captain boss Hiccup around as punishment for hitting him with those ball!" said Fishlegs.

"Why's that the most unfair thing ever?" Heather wondered.

Before he took off, Fishlegs explained. "Because the captain was the one that did it!"

"Who's the captain?"

* * *

"Service!"

At the tennis courts, Harald Rookson was putting Hiccup through a major workout plan as he kept serving tennis balls at him with amazing speed. Hiccup had a hard time keeping up, thanks to his prosthetic leg, as Harald kept serving faster than Hiccup could react most of the time.

As another ball came in, Hiccup tried to go after but ended up tripping and fell to the ground.

"He said… he wasn't… gonna run… speed drills…" said Hiccup. As soon as more tennis balls came in, he shot back up and tried to keep up, despite feeling like his hearts were going to burst out of his chests.

As Hiccup went for another serve, he tripped again on a stray tennis ball.

"Is it over?" Hiccup groaned, when he fell.

Harald walked over across the net with some stupid grin on his face.

"Come on Hiccup, no pain, no gain!" said Harald. "You both gotta hustle to build those muscles!" You need to sweat to become a threat! If you don't pick up the pace, you'll never win the race!"

"All right, all right!" Hiccup shouted. "Enough with the rhyming clichés, as annoying as they are, I get it!"

"There's no letter 'I' in the word 'Team', Hiccup!" said Harald, making some kind of strange pose. "It's the very first rule in tennis!"

"Really, even when you're playing singles?" Hiccup asked.

"Moving along…" Harald interrupted. "I think its time to work on your forehand and backhand?" And for emphasis, he swung the racquet forward and backward as he said it. "I think 1000 strokes each should make tennis more their racquet!" He joked. "Get it? Racquet? Racket?" He was laughing as he returned to the other side.

Ragnar, Fishlegs, Heather and Ruffnut were currently watching over at the side-lines.

"I get it, this guy's a total nut," Fishlegs stated. "The clichés, the crazy practicing…"

"He is certainly full of himself," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, he's a bit obsessive," Heather added.

"Let him obsess…over me!" said Ruffnut, oblivious to the previous three statements.

Meanwhile, Hiccup was continuing his practice until he swung off-balance, falling down and sending the tennis balls rolling towards a pair of feet.

"Well…" said Hiccup, feeling worn out again. "At least I'm done on the first ten."

Ruffnut spotted Astrid coming in. "Hey, Astrid!"

Harald turned around at that, to see Astrid walking up to him.

"Sorry I'm all sweaty, Astrid," said Harald, as he walked up to Astrid. "It's just that I've been kicking this guy's—"

Astrid ignored him and walked over to Hiccup, "You all right?" she asked.

"Never better," Hiccup wheezed. "Shoulder should pop back into place any minute."

"Anyway, I ran into Banner and he told me someone spotted Snotlout," said Astrid.

"I don't suppose they said where he was?" Hiccup asked.

During the conversation, Harald was not pleased and to emphasize it, you could clearly see the rage building up inside him.

"A bench warmer loser like Hiccup talking to a girl like Astrid! No way! Time to run some interference!" Harald grumbled as he went over to break up the conversation of the two of them.

"HEY, TIME OUT!"

Astrid and Hiccup jumped at seeing the Harald storming over.

"You can't be talking to a first-round pick like Astrid!" Harald argued. "I mean you can't even return a bucky-whip with some topspin, so just stay away from my Obelisk pixie!"

"Obelisk Pixie?" Ragnar and Heather asked in disbelief. "

"I wonder what that would look like…" Fishlegs mused aloud. The image of tiny Obelisk the Tormentor's with wings on them gathering pollen from flowers filled the large Slifer's mind. The boy shook his head and with a disgusted look.

He muttered. "On second thought, I really wish I didn't hear that."

"Listen, Hiccup, I'm warning you, step away from the beautiful girl. Your way out of your league, do not make me go athletic on you!" Harald roared.

Hiccup held his hands up in defence. "Wow, calm down. Astrid and I are just talking, it's pretty common between friends."

"Friends?!" Harald got right in the middle of them, forcing Hiccup to jump back a bit. "What is that, are you her boyfriend!?"

"Wow, I just happened to be a boy that happens to be Astrid's friend that doesn't make me her boyfriend," said Hiccup calmly.

"Sure… you like me to believe that wouldn't you? Well, I don't I don't believe anything you say," said Harald tightening his grip on his racket. "Which is why… this little Huddle is over…"

"Great!" said Hiccup rolling his eyes. "So leave us alone."

"No way," said Harald. "Know your sports… when a Huddle is over you make your play, you don't run away."

"So… what you want a tennis match or something?" Hiccup asked.

"No way," said Harald. "I want a duel! And the winner become Astrid' fiancé!"

"Whoa, hold up!" Astrid blinked, "Fiancé?"

"I just love weddings!" Ruffnut squealed.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure about arranged ones." Heather added.

"Are you crazy?" Hiccup exclaimed in disbelief. "I will not put such a big and major decision such as marriage on the line in a duel. Astrid is not some trophy to be won or just some prize to be shown off! She is a human being capable of love and emotion. I will not duel you for her like she is just some cheap object for your desire!"

Astrid blushed a deep crimson at Hiccup's defence of her. Astrid never felt so flattened before in all her life.

"What you chicken?" said Harald.

"Actually, I'm just being practical," said Hiccup. "How about we just changed the stakes are bit. You win and I leave Astrid alone I will even talk to her, but if I win that's the end of Spitelout's punishment. Deal?"

"Deal," said Harald.

"Here we go," Heather sighed as Harald and Hiccup strapped on their disks and inserted their decks.

"Yeah, if that guy duels like he plays tennis, it'll be rough going for Hiccup," Fishlegs noted.

"However in this is gonna be a long match," said Ragnar.

"Especially since Harald is deluding himself that this is some sort of engagement match," Heather sighed.

"This is great," Ruffnut squealed to Astrid. "Having two cute boys duelling for your hand in marriage!"

Astrid rubbed her forehead, did she forget that Hiccup altered the arrangements. Besides, even if he did win she pretty much doubted that he would hold her to it.

Heather sighed and folded her arms, "No one's getting married, Ruff."

"Well, fine, you're getting engaged, why split hairs?" Ruffnut said with a smile.

"I'm not getting engaged either Jaz!" Astrid snapped, glaring at her, "The only reason I haven't walked out of here is because I want to see if the rumours are true! To see if Harald is as good as Wolflegs! And in case you forgot Hiccup altered the arrangements of this duel!"

"Somehow I doubt Harald will remember," said Heather.

' _As good as my brother?_ ' Fishlegs turned to Harald and Hiccup with worry on his face, _'Oh boy… then he must not duel like he plays tennis! He must be better!_ '

"Time to lose!" Harald shouted as he and Hiccup drew their five cards.

Harald: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

"Service!" Harald shouted as he drew. "First, I'm gonna volley a Spell Card at ya… Service Ace!"

"A spell already?" Hiccup asked.

"You got that's right, and just like a power serve, this will make you sweat," Harald inserted the card into his disk, before addressing his silent opponent. "I pick a card from my hand, and you can guess whether it's a Spell, Trap or Monster. If you guess right, you're fine, but if you guess wrong… then you get served with a stinging 1500 points of damage!"

"Fine, then I choose a Spell," said Hiccup.

"Hehehehe…" Harald grinned and turned over the card, a Mega Thunderball. "Monster!" He laughed, "Looks like we found something else you're bad at besides talking."

"Oh great…" Hiccup moaned.

"Now, this monster goes away…" Harald tucked the card into his pocket, "Then I'll unleash the force of Service Ace! Try returning this shot!"

The card on Harald's field glowed and let out a beam of light that crashed into the ground at Hiccup's feet, blowing some nearby tennis balls into the stands.

Harald: 4000

Hiccup: 2500

"15 love and I'll place this facedown to finish the set," he said as a face down appeared. "Your serve."

"Yeah, and I better make it count," said Hiccup as he picked up his card. ' _Hmm, so far he's only been attacking me with card effects. That has to be his strategy and if that's the case I need to win this duel quickly before he takes me out._ ' He then he selected a card and placed it onto the field. "I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang in attack mode!"

Hookfang appeared on the field swinging his mace. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000)

"Now Hookfang show Harald who's king of the court. Blazing Mace!" Hiccup commanded.

Hookfang jumped into the air with his burning mace held up high over his head.

"Don't think so, hothead!" said Harald as he revealed his facedown. "I activate Receive Ace! This can't negate your attack and then deal 1500 points of damage directly to you!"

A powerful gust of wind caused Hookfang to lose grip of his mace and it slammed right on top of Hiccup.

Harald: 4000

Hiccup: 1000

"That's 30 love, though I do have to pay three cards because of the trap I played," Harald as he sent the top three cards from his deck to his graveyard.

"I end my turn," said Hiccup.

"Boy, you are lazy aren't you?" said Harald as he drew. "Hey, bro, that's fine. Makes a much easier for me. I play Smash Ace! It lets me that the top card of my deck and if it's a monster—"

"Let me guess I get nailed, right?" said Hiccup.

"Hey, you're starting to get the swing of this, huh?" said Harald. "And you will be getting swung at." Harald drew and grinned. He revealed Mystical Shine Ball. "Oh yeah, a monster."

"Lady Luck… she hates me," Hiccup moaned.

"Well, she loves me," said Harald. "Of course, most girls do. And now get ready for Smash Ace!"

A ball of light was flying straight towards Hiccup, everyone just stared he was about to lose. Then out of nowhere a kid in green and brown dragon-like armour appeared and knocked the orb away sending it straight towards Astrid, Ragnar and the others.

"Sorry, pal, but your age is when out of bounds," said Hiccup.

"What the?" said Harald when he noticed that Hiccup had a new monster on the field. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200). "You cheat!"

"Hey, I don't cheat," said Hiccup. "It's thanks to Dragon Knight Sharpshot's special ability that protected me. You see if I'm about to take damage from either an effect or an attack I consoled him straight to the field and then your turn automatically comes to an end."

Harald growled.

"He saved himself," said Ragnar with a sigh of relief.

"A bit close though," said Fishlegs.

Heather made her way over towards Astrid. "So, you're not interested about any of these guys fighting for your heart?"

Astrid sighed in annoyance. "We've been over this, Heather."

"Come on, don't you think Hiccup's cute?" Heather asked smirking.

Astrid's face went pink. "I guess… if you like that whole honourable duelling thing?"

Heather smirked. "You do like him."

"How about we just focus on the duel?" said Astrid turning her eyes back upon the match.

"It's my turn now," said Hiccup as he drew and he nodded at the card he got. "Okay, I summon Dragon Knight Fanghook in attack mode!"

Fanghook appeared alongside Hookfang swinging his own mace. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800)

"All right, that how you duel Hiccup," Fishlegs cheered.

"If you like that gonna love this. Hookfang, Fanghook attack is light points directly with Double Blazing Mace!" Hiccup commanded.

At once Hookfang and Fanghook jumped into the air, both of them swinging their fiery maces. They then slammed them right on top of Harald.

Harald: 1000

Hiccup: 1000

"Looks like we're all tied up," said Hiccup.

"Nice going, Hic!" Ragnar cheered.

"I hope that shuts him up," said Astrid.

"So, how do you like that?" Hiccup asked looking at Harald.

"It's not over yet," said Harald as he drew his next card and smiled. "And I'll prove it with this move. This one says it all…" He then played a Continuous Spell Card. "…Deuce!"

"You may have to explain this one," said Hiccup.

"It's quite the spell card, I can only activated because we both have 1000 life points. And here's how it works for now on each of us can only attack with one monster during our Battle Phase and life points don't matter. You win by being the first to damage your opponent twice in a row."

"Wait, so it's just a straight up head-to-head fight?"

"Right, I told you that card would say it all." He then pulled the card he just drew. "I summon The Big Server." Then saw a guy wearing an orange tennis shirt and had a racket replacing his right hand. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 800) "The reason his serve is so big is because it's strike directly at your life points. Now Big Server attack with Spikes Serve!"

Big Server then tossed a spiked ball into the air and slammed his racket down upon it and it slammed straight into Hiccup.

Harald: 1000

Hiccup: 700

Hiccup knew it in matter if is likewise went down to 0 thanks to the Deuce Spell Card. However, he knew if he got it one more time he would lose.

"Advantage, Harald," said Harald smugly. "That was easy. Now just one more strike and you're finished, the duel will be over and Astrid will be mine."

"For your sake you better hope I win," said Hiccup under his breath.

Harald didn't hear, but carried on smirking. "Oh, by the way. The Big Server has a special ability that allows me to take Service Ace from my deck and place it into my hand." Harald then began looking through his deck and picked out his Service Ace card. "You get a new card to, but it won't matter. I mean let's be real here there's no way you'll be as good as this one. How could it be? Now draw your card."

Hiccup drew his card, it was Stormfly.

"All right, and now…" Harald activated his Service Ace Spell Card. "I activate Service Ace. You remember how it works, right? You choose the cards type, if you're right you're good…"

"Hey, and if wrong I'm goner," said Hiccup. ' _Especially since that will be his two-hit in a row_.'

Fishlegs quivered. ' _He's only got a one in three chance_.'

Ragnar looks slightly concerned. ' _If he gets this wrong it's all over_.'

Heather tried to look hopeful. ' _Please, let him be right_.'

Astrid showed no emotion. ' _It all comes down to this. The game, the set, the match._ '

' _I hope I guess right,_ ' Hiccup thought. He took a deep breath and said, "All right, it's a monster card."

Harald eyes widened and turned over the card, a Mega Thunderball. "You got it."

"Oh, thank Thor," Hiccup breathed with a sigh of relief.

"He's still in it," said Ragnar smiling.

"Oh, yeah," said Harald as he grabbed the last card in his hand. "Tell me if you're in it after this. I play Giant Racket and equipment to Big Server!" Suddenly a very large racket appeared on Big Server's back."

"Any reason why you tied a large tennis racket on the back of your monster?" Hiccup asked.

"Simple, when a monster equipped with Giant Racket it has at one time power that allows him to turn any battle damage to 0," Harald explained.

"Wait a minute, since your Deuce allows me to attack with only one monster but turn I will be able to destroy him. Big Server can't be destroyed with one attack."

"Exactly right," said Harald. "So, as you can see you're not in it, you're not over it, you're just about to lose it."

Hiccup look down at his deck. ' _Not as long as is card still in my deck_.' Hiccup then drew his card and looked at it. "Looks like about a win this."

Harald, who was looking smug a moment ago, just stared at Hiccup.

"The ball is in my court now," said Hiccup. He then activated the card he drew. "I activate the Equip Spell Card, Mist Body! Thanks for this spell the monster equipped with this card can't be destroyed in battle."

Harald laughed. "What good would that do, I'm not attacking any of your monsters attacking you."

Hiccup smiled. "Whoever said I was you using on my monsters." Harald stared at him in puzzlement. "I'm quipping it to your Big Server!"

Suddenly Big Server was covered by some sort of mist.

"Uh, why did he do that?" Fishlegs asked.

"I know, now we can't destroy Big Server," said Heather in puzzlement.

Harald laughed again. "I'm starting to see why you're ranked a Slifer, because you do stupid moves."

Hiccup smirked and everyone stared at him. "I'm starting to see why you're snobby Obelisk, because you really underestimate your opponents." Hiccup then grab the card in his hand. "I sacrifice Sharpshoot in order to summon Dragon Knight Stormfly!"

Sharpshoot then vanished and was replaced with the beautiful female knight carrying a battleaxe. (ATK: 2000/ DEF: 1900). The moment she landed on the field both Hookfang and Fanghook eyed her out and gave them the most frightening death glare anyone has ever seen.

"Boy, she's giving me the heebie-jeebies," said Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, it's only a card," said Ragnar.

"Actually I agree with him," said Heather and he turned a gaze upon Astrid. "She seems to remind me a little of you."

Astrid said nothing.

"What good will your girlfriend over there do?" Harald asked.

"Quite a bit, because she can attack every single one of your monsters on the same turn," said Hiccup. At once Harald took a step backwards realising he was about to lose. "I drew her when you activated your Big Server's special effect. Remember what you said?" Harald remembered him saying that that it wouldn't matter if he got a new card. "Well, guess what it mattered. Stormfly attack with Dragon Axe!"

Stormfly rushed over towards Big Server and raised her axe. Big Server block the attack with his racket.

"That's one."

Stormfly then charged at him again, but this time headed him with her axe.

"That's two."

Stormfly then prepared for another swing. "And this third attack will be the charm."

Harald could only watch as Stormfly slammed Big Server again with her axe. He fell to his knees in defeat as the holograms vanished.

"I guess that's that," said Ragnar.

"This can't be!" said Harald falling to his knees.

"I'm afraid it is," said Hiccup.

"But she was my soulmate, my first draft pick, my marquee girlfriend!" Harald cried.

"He sure likes to milk it," said Ragnar.

"Yes, it's not exactly attractive," Heather agreed.

They watched as Harald ran away crying his eyes out.

Then they saw Astrid on the war path as she approached Hiccup and next thing they knew she punched him hard on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" Hiccup yelled rubbing his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"That was for fighting my own battles for me," said Astrid coldly. "Do you really think I needed your help dealing with that guy?"

"Actually, I was more doing it for him than for you," said Hiccup. "How long do you think he'd will survive with you around?" Astrid then glared at him. "And I mean that in the nicest way, but let's face it if we kept the original deal and he won he would end up in hospital."

Astrid nodded. "Fair point, I suppose he got off easy losing to you." She then kissed him on the cheek. "And that's for everything else."

Hiccup, just stood there trying to remember his own name, and everyone else stared at Astrid as she walks out of the tennis courts.

Ragnar then went up to Hiccup and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can't figure that go out. First she hits you and then she kisses you."

"That's just Astrid's way of saying she likes you," said Heather.

"Really, I hate to see her way of saying she hates you," said Ragnar.

The all laughed, except for Hiccup, who is still watching Astrid as she walked out of the tennis courts totally bewildered.

* * *

Dragon Knight Sharpshoot

ATK: 300/ DEF: 200

1 Star

WIND

Warrior/ Effect

This card it treated as a Dragon Type while face-up on the field or in the graveyard. On your opponent's turn if you were attacked directly or about to take damage to an effect you summon this card to the field to negate the damage. After this effect is triggered your opponent enters their End Phase.


	16. The Duel Giant

Deep within the forests of Duel Academy and Obelisk Blue was just blown off his feet. He had just lost a duel and towering over him was a very large man wearing Obelisk Blue blazes around his body making it impossible to tell who he was.

The giant then reached down for one of his cards. "I'll be taking this," he said taking the card and then looked down at the Obelisk. "You're lucky that a card is all you're losing tonight." The Obelisk just quivered in fright. "Next time, pick on someone your own size."

Then the giant walked off leaving the flight and Obelisk to quiver in fear.

* * *

Hiccup and his friends were wandering through the campus and then they saw three Obelisk talking to one another.

"I heard he picked off another."

"Is it the Masked Avenger or something?"

"No this was a he and besides no one seen her in weeks and she doesn't go around stealing your best cards."

"They say the guy is huge and he can't be beat."

"What are you guys talking about?" Hiccup asked.

The Obelisk stopped and looked at them. Then with a sneer they walked off.

"Should have seen that one coming," said Hiccup.

"Lousy is the Obelisks," said Ragnar.

"I think they were talking about the Duel Giant," said Fishlegs.

"Duel Giant?" said the two Slifer.

"Yeah, some gigantic guy challenging all the Obelisks Blue students to duels and winning. And the scary part is that he only comes out in midnight."

"Oh, yes I've heard of this guy, he duels with the ante rule doesn't he?" said Ragnar.

"Isn't that rule that makes you put up your best card and if you lose you have to hand it over?" Hiccup asked.

"That's the one," said Fishlegs.

"And illegal," Ragnar added. "It's also why he disguises himself. Apparently he wears all the blue blazers of all the Obelisks he's beaten."

"You don't suppose Heather has anything to do with this?" Fishlegs asked. "She was the masked Avenger?"

"No, she hasn't wore that mask in weeks. Besides she will never duel with the ante rule, you know that."

* * *

Spitelout was wandering through the same corridor also thinking about this Duel Giant. ' _What an absolute nightmare! Some rogue duellist roaming the campus, making a mockery of my Obelisks, making a mockery of me_.' He then to speak out loud. "And what's worse this Duel Giant is breaking campus law with that ante rule, under my watch. If Chancellor Stoick ever find out I'd get fired."

He then stopped when he saw Hiccup and his friends. "Hiccup? Wait… of course, he could be the perfect way out of this predicament." Spitelout then rushed over towards Hiccup. "Hiccup, my boy."

"He's being nice," said Hiccup whispering to the others. "Something is wrong."

"How would you like to have no homework for the rest of the year, huh?" Spitelout asked. "And that includes your two friends."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "What's the catch?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I just need you to ID the person who's holding these illegal matches. Sure you heard of him, they call him the Duel Giant."

"Yeah, we've heard of them," said Ragnar with a slight smirk. "He's the guy who's whipping the butts of your Obelisks."

"I don't keep track of such things," said Spitelout as he left. "Anyway good luck." He smiled at himself. ' _This is perfect, once Hiccup report back to me with whoever this Duel Giant is I'll have them both expelled for easy illegal duelling. I can't lose_.'

Once Spitelout was a safe distance away Hiccup look to the others.

"Does he really think we'd fall into such an obvious trap?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, he clearly wants you to take part in an illegal duel in the moment you tell him who this guy is your both be expelled," said Ragnar.

"At least he'd be true to his word," said Fishlegs and the two boys started. "You will be having homework for the rest of the year."

They laughed.

"Still to do something about this Duel Giant," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, but if you don't mind I think I'll duel," said Ragnar. Hiccup looked at him in puzzlement. "Something tells me my gut that it has to be me."

"Okay, but where do we start?" Fishlegs asked.

* * *

For some reason Ragnar led them to the duel arena where there was a duel in progress. A Ra versus an Obelisk. What caught his interest was the Ra, who was very short with blonde hair and looked extremely nervous as he looked at his cards. The Obelisk was looking quite smug and he had three friends with him, who were just as smug.

On the Ras field was Mad Sword Beast and 300 life points left. The Obelisk had one facedown card and had Marauding Captain face up in attack mode and 200 life points left.

"Any reason why you took us here?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yeah, because this is an unusual way to start an investigation," said Hiccup.

"Think about it, if you were the Duel Giant what would you do?" Ragnar.

"Well, I would try to pick on my opponent and learn a bit more about him," said Hiccup in his eyes widened. "So that's why you brought us here."

"Okay, I'll… I'll play," said the Ra nervously.

Hiccup leaning close looked at the Ra's hand as he saw that he had the Earthquake card. "He's got Earthquake. If he plays that he can force all the opposing monsters to go to the fence about and his Mad Sword Beast has piercing damage."

"Which means he could win this duel," said Ragnar.

However, the Ra seem to be in two minds as he looked at his hand and then to the field. Apparently taking his time was starting to annoy his opponent.

"Get a move on!" the Obelisk yelled. "I would like to get home sometime this school year!"

Almost at once the Ra broke down.

"What's the matter, Short Stack? Can't see over the cards?" said one of the Obelisk's friends.

"Looks like the little baby is going to cry. Want to call your mum?"

The Ra just looked at his cards. "Eeny, meeny—"

"Miny, moe!" the Obelisk yelled impatiently. "Make a move you're going way too slow!"

"Okay, I guess I'm going to attack with my Mad Sword Beast," said the Ra.

Hiccup and Ragnar looked at each other, why would he make a move like that?

The Mad Sword Beast charge straight towards the more Marauding Captain, but he fell right into the trap. "I activate my facedown card!" His facedown turned out to be the Reinforcements trap card. "It's called Reinforcements and enhance me 500 attack points! And I think I'll give them to Marauding Captain!"

Marauding Captain then charged at Mad Sword Beast now that he was empowered with Reinforcements. (ATK: 1200-1700)

He then slashed at the Mad Sword Beast and was destroyed. Then the Ra lost the remainder of his life points.

"And he was so close," said Hiccup.

"A classic case of stage fright," said a familiar voice. They turned around and found Speedfist standing next to them.

"Hey, Speedfist," said Fishlegs.

"Bjorn has tremendous skill, but he hasn't yet been able to handle the pressure of duelling in public like this," Speedfist explained.

"I didn't think it was possible!" The Obelisk sneered. "But on his knees he is even smaller than he was before."

Then the other Obelisks laughed and Ragnar could sense the rage building up in within Bjorn.

"It's no wonder he has difficulty being in public with people like that abound," said Hiccup.

"Must be without being small," said Fishlegs. Hiccup then gave a blank expression. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Only that people picked on Hiccup, for being small," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs blinked and looked at Hiccup, who had to be a good 5 foot 9. "I had a growth spurt," Hiccup explained.

"Anyway, what's the crew up to these days?" Speedfist asked.

"We're looking for giant," said Fishlegs.

Speedfist blinked. "A giant?"

"Yeah, you know the one that's been beating all those Obelisks?"

Speedfist nodded. "Yes, I've heard about this titan."

Hiccup then noticed Bjorn meeting up with another guy and he was huge, he looked about a foot shorter than his father. "Whoa, that is always big as my dad."

"Yeah, look at the size of that guy," said Fishlegs.

"How Agnar? Please is no Duel Giant," said Speedfist.

"What are you talking about? He's gigantic!"

Speedfist laughed. "But he's no duellist, Fishlegs. He's at the Academy studying to design games, not playing them. I know him, he can hardly duel."

"Tell me, does he get bullied as his friend Bjorn?" Ragnar asked.

"Yes, bullies don't seem to care how big you are so long as easily pushed around," said Speedfist.

They then got up and walked down the corridors as they walked Hiccup and Ragnar exchange looks.

"You think it would I'm thinking?" Hiccup asked.

"Only if I'm thinking what you're thinking," said Ragnar.

"Can either of you tell me what you're thinking?" Fishlegs asked.

"We can tell you were thinking right now," said Ragnar.

"And what's that?"

"We're thinking we should stay up at night for the Duel Giant," said Hiccup.

* * *

Later that night they were outside the campus.

"Guys, do you really think the giant will show up tonight?" Fishlegs asked.

"Shhh," the two boys said.

"Not if we keep grabbing," said Ragnar. "Besides, I thought you did want to attract the Duel Giant attention?"

At once Fishlegs covered his mouth, not wanting to be found by the Duel Giant.

How long do you think we have to wait?" Hiccup asked looking at Ragnar.

Then they heard a scream in the forest.

"I'm thinking not long," said Ragnar.

At once they all rushed into the woods.

* * *

They soon found themselves in the clearing and found an Obelisk on his knees, it was the same Obelisk they saw duelling Bjorn.

"He took my best card," he said.

"Which way did he go?" Ragnar asked.

The Obelisk pointed at a bunch of trees and they ran to the direction he was pointing at. Fishlegs looked back at the Obelisk and recognised him.

"He's from the arena," said Fishlegs.

"We know," Hiccup and Ragnar said together.

* * *

It didn't take them long to find the Duel Giant, in fact it was hard to miss him because he was so large.

"Hold it!" Ragnar yelled.

At the site of him Fishlegs began to quiver in fright hiding behind Hiccup as the Duel Giant. "You know what, guys? I don't think this was a good idea."

They ignored him and Ragnar turned his eyes on the Duel Giant. "It's time to duel. And since I know you only duel with the ante rule I'll put this card up." Ragnar then showed a Templar Knight.

"So be it," said the Duel Giant.

"Rag, that's the car your mother gave you for your birthday!" Hiccup reminded. "I don't think she be to plead if you lost it."

"I'm not planning on losing it," said Ragnar as they activated their Duel Disks and inserted their decks.

"Let's Duel!" they said.

Duel Giant: 4000

Ragnar: 4000

"I'll go first," said the Duel Giant and drew his card. "I summoned Giant Orc in attack mode!"

There are a large ogre-like creature appeared on the field holding a bone in his hand. (ATK: 2200/ DEF: 0)

"First move, first mistake," said Ragnar. "You see when Orc attacks he switches into defence mode. That won't be a problem, except he has 0 defence points."

However, the Duel Giant was unfazed by this. "Make your move, Duellist!"

"If you insist," said Ragnar as he drew. "I summon Blade Knight in defence mode." A knight in shining armour then appeared on Ragnar's field in a defence position. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000). "And with that I'll let you have a go."

"And it will be one to remember, first I draw," said Duel Giant as he drew. "Then our attack with Giant Orc! Bone Basher!"

Giant Orc slammed his bone right on top of Blade Knight destroying him instantly.

"Don't forget, your master is forced to go into defence mode because he attacked, if you can call that the defence mode," said Ragnar as Giant Orc switch to defence mode.

"Not that he needs any," said Duel Giant. Ragnar raise an eyebrow. "I summon Second Goblin in attack mode."

He then place the card in his Spell in Trap Card Zone much of the confusion of Fishlegs. "Wait, that's a monster, but he's playing him as a spell?"

"That's because Second Goblin is a Union card and he could be treated as a spell card once per turn," Hiccup explained grimly as a goblin-like creature landed on Giant Orc's shoulder. "And that card has a terrifying ability."

"He's right, Second Goblin has the power to allow me to switch Giant Orc from defence to offence," said the Duel Giant as Giant Orc switch to attack mode.

"That's not good," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, it's a dangerous combo and there aren't many carpeting go face-to-face with a Giant Orc," said Hiccup.

"Hey, how about a voice of confidence over here," said Ragnar as he drew his card. "Okay, the first thing I'll do is play Big Shield Gardna in defence mode."

Suddenly a man with a very large shield appeared on Ragnar's side of the field. (ATK: 100/ DEF: 2600)

"That's a lot of defence points," said Fishlegs.

"Yes, it should give him some breathing room," Hiccup agreed.

"Now I activate the spell card Ookazi and thanks to this you get blasted with 800 point of damage," said Ragnar revealing the card.

Then before he knew it, the Duel Giant got blasted by a ball of fire.

Duel Giant: 3200

Ragnar: 4000

The impact of the blast knocked the blazers that was covering his face off. Now standing before them was Angar.

"Yep," Ragnar smirked.

Hiccup didn't looked surprised, but Fishlegs was confused. "Agnar, but I thought he couldn't duel," he said.

"What should I do?" Agnar asked desperately.

"You can start by dropping the charade," said Ragnar. "How about the real Duel Giant comes out now."

Fishlegs now was even more confused and everyone turned to look at the large boulder behind Agnar. Then emerging from behind it was Bjorn wearing a radio transmitter and upon closer inspection Agnar had one to.

"So it was him, but why?" Fishlegs asked scratching his head.

"The answer is actually quite simple," said Hiccup.

Bjorn looked at Ragnar and Hiccup. "How did you two know?"

"We saw you back in the arena and we saw how mad you were at the Obelisks picking on you and when we saw this big guy is your friend it all began to make sense," said Ragnar.

"I did a bit of investigating discovered that the Obelisk that been hit had all won duels against you," said Hiccup. "And since they lost their cars I can only imagine that after winning they decided that being smart was preferable being a good sport."

"But I lost those duels, why would you think I could beat all those Obelisks?" Bjorn asked.

"Because we heard that you were a great duellist, but the only problem was you suffered from stage fright," said Ragnar. "Which explained why the Duel Giant only came out at night and use a radio transmitter."

"All right, it's over now," said Fishlegs. "Just give back the cards and—"

"What do you mean over? Nothing is over!" Bjorn yelled. Fishlegs quickly hid behind Hiccup, who just rolled his eyes. "I won't just go home and be little Bjorn again. Everyone makes fun of me. They say I'm small, shrimp. I'm tired of them always laughing at me, don't you see? That's why I get nervous, I couldn't concentrate."

And then I met Agnar. They teased him too so we decided to make a promise: we'd get all of them back, right where it hurt the most. And the best way to do that was to play by the ante rule and then we disguise ourselves so we will be discovered."

"That explains the blazers," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, so you and be caught breaking the rules," said Hiccup.

"That's right," said Bjorn.

"Well, what now? Your secret is out, pretty soon everyone will know who you are, including Spitelout," Ragnar smirking. "That is unless you and I continue this duel. Out in the open."

Bjorn looked horrified. "Out in the open?" He then growled in frustration. "Well, I suppose you not giving me any choice." He then looked at Agnar. "Let's do this."

"Yeah," said Agnar and positioned himself so Bjorn could see their cards.

"Draw Angar," said Bjorn and Agnar did what he was told. Bjorn looked at their hand and nodded. "I summoned Goblin King in attack mode!"

Then a goblin wearing a robe and crown appeared on their field. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 0)

"Zero attack points?" said Ragnar.

"Not for long," said Bjorn. "You see for each Warrior monster I send the graveyard I can summon a Half Goblin. Go, defence mode!"

Agnar discarded his own Big Shield Gardna and Warrior Dai Grepher and then two goblins appeared on his other field in defence mode. (ATK: 500/ DEF: 500)

"Now I play Goblin King special ability. It lets him gain a 1000 attack and defence points for every Fiend monster on the field other than himself and I have three of them."

Goblin King roared as he gained points. (ATK: 0-3000/ DEF: 0-3000)

"3000 attack points!" Fishlegs gasped.

"This is in good," said Hiccup.

"Now, Giant Orc attack is Big Shield Gardna with Bone Basher!" Bjorn commanded.

Fishlegs looked puzzled. "But his monster has fewer attack points?"

Giant Orc slammed his bone-like club at Big Shield Gardna, but it bounced off him.

Bjorn/ Agnar: 2800

Ragnar: 4000

"He just wasted his attack?" said Fishlegs.

"No he didn't," said Hiccup. Then suddenly Big Shield Gardna switch to attack mode much to Fishlegs' surprise. "You see when Big Shield Gardna is attacked he's forced to go into attack mode and is a much better defender then an attacker."

"Now Goblin King attack the Big Shield Gardna!" Bjorn commanded.

Goblin King then punched Big Shield Gardna and now with him in attack mode he was destroyed and Ragnar was almost blown off his feet from the impact.

Bjorn/ Agnar: 2800

Ragnar: 1100

"And in case you forgot your Templar Knight is still up for grabs," said Bjorn. "Face it you're going to lose, Ragnar. Especially since my Second Goblin effect which Orc back to attack mode. You're Knight… so he's going to be all mine."

"Want him? Then you're going to have to earn him and I'm not gonna make it easy for you, because small guy not I'm gonna give you my very best," said Ragnar as he drew his next card. "First I'll play Marauding Captain."

His captain then appeared on his field. (ATK: 1200/ DEF 400)

"And thanks to his special ability I can summon another monster like Queen's Knight!" said Ragnar as the female warrior appeared on his field. Then two card shot out from his Graveyard. "Now by removing from play my Blade Knight and Big Shield Gardna I special summon my Templar Knight in attack mode!"

Then the knight in shining armour appeared on the field. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 1800)

"All right, he summoned three monsters on the same turn," said Fishlegs.

"Yes, but it won't get rid of that Goblin King or take away the remainder of their life points," said Hiccup. His eyes then widened as he understood Ragnar's plan. "Unless—"

"Now I activate the spell card Double Summon and as its name suggests it allows me to summon again this turn," said Ragnar. He then grabbed the last card in his hand. "So I sacrificed my three monsters in order to summon Gilford the Lightning!"

His three monsters then disappeared as lightning shot across the forest. Then appearing on his field was a muscular a warrior in armour with a red cape flowing behind. Strapped to his back was a long sword. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 1400)

"And since I summoned him by sacrificing three monsters he automatically destroys all monsters on your side of the field."

Gilford then pulled out his blade and at once lightning struck down upon Bjorn's monsters and they were destroyed instantly.

"And since you're defenceless, he's going to attack you directly!"

Bjorn and Aganr could only watch as Gilford charge seven with his blade which was sparking bolts of lightning. He brought down his blade and they were struck by lightning and they both fell to the ground.

Bjorn/ Agnar: 0

Ragnar: 1100 (Winner)

"Hey, you did it, Ragnar," said Fishlegs.

"Look like you just became a giant slayer," said Hiccup.

"They beat us, we're through," said Bjorn looking at Agnar.

"No, not we," said Agnar and he looked at Ragnar the others. "Please, just turn me in. Forget Bjorn."

Bjorn stared at him. "Agnar?"

"I've always been alone, I'm not gonna let them expel you for showing me… what it means to have a friend. After all, didn't we always promised to stand up for each other? You're the best duellist I've ever seen. I won't let them kick you out of here."

"But what about you? Your dream of becoming a game designer?"

Agnar shrugged. "Not all dreams come true."

"Agnar?" Bjorn cried.

"Hold on, I'm not turning either of you to in," said Ragnar as he walked up to them.

"Yeah, you're not the only who's been made fun of," said Hiccup.

"Yes, everyone gets a dose of that sometime and it will be right of me just to kick you out because of that," said Ragnar.

"What?" said Bjorn puzzled.

"I said I'd only turn you in if you didn't duel, I never said I would turn you in if you lost. I just wanted you to duel me in the open and realise that you could. It was a close duel Bjorn, you should be proud."

Bjorn got to his feet. "You know, Hiccup, you're right. I did play well and in front of people. Maybe I can do it again."

"Of course you can, I just hope it's against me." Bjorn laughed. "Now I suggest the two of you get out of here before Spitelout catches you."

"Thanks, Ragnar!" Bjorn yelled as he and Agnar ran back to their dorm. "We'll make good!"

"What about the whole homework situation?" Fishegs asked.

"Don't worry, we took care of that," Hiccup assured.

"Fortunately, it was only for one night," said Ragnar.

* * *

The next morning they were in Spitelout's office giving out the report and he wasn't too pleased about the results.

"So, let me get this straight. You found the Duel Giant, beat him and then he was able to escape!" he yelled.

"The guy was faster than he looks," said Hiccup.

"And it was pretty dark out, it's hard to track down someone even someone that size," Ragnar added.

"And you're saying that you didn't duel using the illegal ante rule, but all the other Obelisks did?" said Spitelout sceptically.

"Did they? We heard that they can lost their cards, temporarily," said Hiccup.

Secretly, Bjorn and Agnar managed to return on the cards they took without anyone noticing them. How they did it was beyond them, especially with all the security in the Obelisk Blue Dorm, and they didn't want to know.

"So, first you find the Duel Giant, then he escaped. First all those cards are lost, now there found," said Spitelout.

"Strangest thing," said Ragnar.

"It's way beyond us Slifers," said Hiccup.

"Just go," he said with gritted teeth.

Hiccup and Ragnar left fuming Spitelout behind, who had failed again at expelling them.


	17. Nature of the Draw

Hiccup and Ragnar were running down the corridor with Fishlegs struggling to keep up with them.

"Hiccup, Ragnar, slow down!" Fishlegs whined.

"I can't! Not on Sandwich Day!" Hiccup replied.

"You're way too excited about this," said Ragnar.

Hiccup ignored Ragnar's's words as they finally made it to the shack, where a bunch of Slifer and Ra students were crowding around a deep, square food bin that was filled with a ton of sandwiches inside small packages with the Duel Academy logo on them. All three of them ran up to the bin and looked inside.

"Isn't sandwich day just the greatest, guys?" Hiccup asked. "All these choices and not one of them labelled."

"How's that the greatest, Hiccup?" Fishlegs replied.

"Personally, I would like to know what I'm about to eat," said Ragnar.

"Well, there's one good sandwich," said Hiccup. "The golden eggwich!"

"Since when were you so excited with egg sandwiches?" Ragnar asked.

"Oh, so the sandwiches themselves I'm interested in its drawing them. Besides, I heard those things are delicious!" said Hiccup, sticking his hand into the bin and pulled out a sandwich. He tore it open and took a bite of it. "Yuck!"

"I take it that wasn't the eggwich you were looking for…" Ragnar laughed.

"Grilled tongue!" He whined as he dropped to his knees.

"That's the fifth week in a row that's happened!" said Fishlegs.

"Shame you can't pull your miracle drawers here?" Ragnar joked.

"Better a bad draw here than in a duel."

The boys turned around to see Astrid also holding up two non-eggwiches in her hands. Next to her was the Heather, who didn't seemed to join in the lucky dip.

"Hey Astrid," Fishlegs greeted.

"Wait a minute," Hiccup stood up and face the Obelisk Queen. "You took the eggwich, just to have lunch with me, didn't you?"

That comment made her blush. "I did no such thing!" She blurted out. "I-I was just practicing my drawing skills."

"Sure you did…" Hiccup continued his teasing.

"I was!" She yelled.

"You don't have to lie, Lexi." He edged closer to her.

"I'm not!" Her blush deepened and looked as if she was going to punch him in the face.

Heather quickly stepped in. "She doesn't have the eggwich on her, Hiccup. Thought, I don't understand why anyone would take part in a lucky dip like this."

"I know, seems like a good way to get indigestion," said Ragnar.

"You stay out of this!" Hiccup and Astrid yelled in unison causing the two of them to blush.

"At least they can agree on something," Ragnar joked. "Though I wonder who got it."

"I don't know…" Everyone saw Miss Phlegma come up. "For the past five weeks, nobody has been able to draw the eggwich!" Phlegma explained to them.

Everyone gasped. "Really?"

"Well, at least no one I know has been able to draw it." Phlegma replied. "Someone must be sneaking them out after hours."

"Wow, that thief must pretty good to draw those five weeks in a row." Fishlegs noted.

"And let me guess none the other sandwiches are open?" Ragnar guessed.

Phlegma nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't be that way," Ragnar assured. "It's the thief's fault, not yours."

"In fact, let's catch this thief!" Hiccup declared.

"How we're going to do that?" Fishlegs asked.

"By going on a sandwich stakeout, 24/7!" said Hiccup.

"Huh!?" Fishlegs asked.

"Seriously, all this for sandwich?" said Heather.

"Good idea," said Astrid, who was now a lot more relaxed now. ' _Maybe this eggwich thief will have a lead on where my brother is…'_

Ragnar and Heather looked each other and shrugged. ' _If you can't beat them, join them_.'

* * *

Later that night at the card shack, the gang hung out in Phlegma's office. Hiccup and Ragnar were playing a card game that wasn't Duel Monsters with Fishlegs watching them. Heather and Astrid were reading a book on their latest homework assignment.

"Looks like I win!" said Hiccup, as he picked out a good card from Ragnar's hand and put it in a pile.

"Picking cards, drawing cards, amazing," said Fishlegs amazed.

"Yeah, you seem to have some sort of magic power to draw the best cards," Ragnar muttered because he lost for the third time in a row.

"What are you two doing over there?" Hiccup asked curiously looking at Astrid and Heather.

"Homework," they both said.

' _I'm actually waiting for this thief to show up_.' Astrid thought. ' _Who knows, this guy could have something to with my brother's disappearance_.'

"Who wants some stake out snacks?" said Phlegma as she entered the office with a pile of cakes.

"Those look tasty," said Ragnar

"Thanks," said Phlegma. "These are my special stuff pastries with 3 flavors: strawberry, chocolate and lemon custard."

"Thanks, Miss Phlegma." Fishlegs thanked.

"Point me in the direction of chocolate," said Ragnar.

"It's right…"

"Wait a sec…" said Hiccup. "How about we draw for which cake we want? I'm looking to get strawberry!"

"You want to draw cakes like cards?" Ragnar asked.

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea," said Astrid. "Makes for great practice for duelling."

Heather rolled her eyes. "You would say that."

"All right, wish me luck!" Hiccup reached out for the nearest one and took a bite out of it. "Strawberry!"

"And on your first try!" Fishlegs added. "Way to go!"

"It's good to know I still got it!" said Hiccup with a smug grin.

"Careful, Hic, we might mistake you for Snotlout," Ragnar warned.

"Now there's a scary thought," said Astrid.

Everyone had a good laugh until they heard something knock over inside the shop.

"Looks like he's here…" Astrid whispered. "Hide!"

Phlegma turned off the lights and hid behind a counter. Astrid and Heather hid inside the lockers and the boys hid behind some shelves. More noises were made outside as everyone got out of hiding and peer through the one way window.

"It's the thief…" Hiccup whispered. They saw the sliding doors being lifted up by someone with a lot of muscles, and having little difficulty doing that.

"He's an animal!" Fishlegs whispered fearfully as the person crawled under the door and went over to the sandwich bin.

"Let's get him!" said Ragnar as they opened the door and cut on the lights.

"Drop the eggwich you thief!" said Hiccup to the guy. He was very muscular and only wearing torn up khakis and had long black hair.

The guy let out a Tarzan yell and then rolled out the shack with the sandwich bin, breaking the door.

"Did the Academy does get robbed by Tarzan?" Ragnar blinked.

"Never mind that, after him!" Hiccup ordered.

They followed him to the second floor where he ran across the roof and the having a hard time trying to catch up with him.

"I give this for the guy he sure can move," said Hiccup.

' _This guy definitely got something to hide, there's no way we can lessen getaway,_ ' Astrid thought.

They fold him to the edge of the roof and when they thought they'd gone he jumped straight into the forest swinging on a vine.

"Did he just went on a vine?" said Fishlegs.

"I would be surprised if we see Jane," said Ragnar.

"Let's try and cut him off," said Hiccup.

* * *

It took about five minutes, but they managed to reach the forest however there was no sign of the Tarzan guy then I know where they saw him swinging right over their heads and landing in the clearing.

He then ran towards the cliff and began to climb up a waterfall to escape them. By the time they caught up he was halfway up the falls.

"Who on Midgard is the dude?" Hiccup wondered.

"Dawnfang!" The wild man stopped as the group turned to see Phlegma finally catching up.

"You know him?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, I know him!" She said, looking up at the wild man. "And he knows better than stealing!" The wild man slipped off the waterfall and fell into the water. Once he popped out of the water, Phlegma got a good look at him. "Wow, you've changed!"

"Yes I change, I change for better!" said Dawnfang in a gruff voice.

"Not your grammar," Ragnar muttered.

"How do you know him Miss Phlegma?" Hiccup asked.

"Where else from school; he used to be an Obelisk Blue." She replied.

Everyone turned and stared at Dawnfang.

"Boy, the dress code was a lot more slack back then, huh?" said Ragnar, rubbing his head.

"No, he was different last year." She replied. "Then one day, he just vanished. Dawnfang always visited me at the card shack, especially on sandwich days. But he always was bad in drawing the right one."

"Are you sure he's the same person?" Fishlegs asked. "This guy always gets the good ones."

Dawnfang laughed. "Not same person, I new person now. I live in the nature, I hone my skills," he said

"Why'd ya leave?" Heather asked.

"When I Obelisk, I test good but have difficulty drawing right cards." He replied. "My draw ruin me each time! I do everything to work hard but nothing! But as I watch nature, like waves crashing back and forth. Then, hit me!"

"You want me to hit you?" Hiccup asked.

"No! IT hit me!" Dawnfang corrected. "Just like I know what come next in wave, I realize I know what come next in cards! Must simply be in tune with nature!"

Astrid crossed her arms. ' _I'm thinking this guy can't help me find my brother. In fact, from the smell of him I don't think you can even find a bar soap,_ ' she thought.

This why I train with nature, to learn, to be at one with nature, to be at one with the draw! I get very good, but one way to be sure I take eggwiches. This why I take them these past weeks, not because I thief!" He starts to cry.

"We understand," said Phlegma, feeling sympathetic.

"I don't." Hiccup stated. "Don't get me wrong, I know you're legit with the eggwiches but I like those eggwiches as much as the next guy. So let's duel! If I win, you stop swiping them. If you win, they're all yours!"

Dawnfang smiled. "Fine, but I expert drawer! There no way you can beat me!"

"Hey, I'm no sloppy drawer either!" Hiccup replied.

"It's true," said Fishlegs.

"Best I know." Ragnar added.

"It's quite impressive." Astrid nodded.

"He's very good." Heather noted.

"It on!" said Dawnfang, reaching behind a rock to grab his duel disk. Hiccup had his already.

The two of them activated their Duel Disk and activated them and drew their five cards.

"Let's Duel!"

Dawnfang: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

"I'll start things off," said Hiccup as he drew. "Okay, I play Dragon Knight Fanghook in attack mode." The young knight appeared on the field raising his mace excitedly. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800). "And with that when my turn. Let's see what you've got."

"Just as tree sways to and fro, I know what will come," Dawnfang drew his card and chuckled at what he saw, "The Nature has taught me well. I play card facedown, then I summon card I just drew, Drawler!"

Damon let out a Tarzan yell as a huge golem-looking monster appeared, huge wheels underneath its limbs. (ATK: ?/DEF: ?)

"What's that thing?" Fishlegs asked.

"Not friendly," said Ragnar.

"Now, for every card in my hand that I return to bottom of deck, Drawler gain 500 Attack and Defence point," he held up his entire hand, "and I return four cards from hand."

"That's all his cards," said Ragnar.

"Aw man… that Drawler's decked out," Fishlegs moaned.

He was right, because Drawler felt empowered by the returned cards, glowing. (ATK: 0-2000/DEF: 0-2000)

"Drawler, attack Fanghook with Stone Roll Wrecker!" Dawnhook commanded. His stone monster growled and immediately ran over Fanghook with its huge presses, completely flattening the young knight like a how you see a cartoon after being flattened.

Dawnfang: 4000

Hiccup: 3400

Hiccup looked down at his deck to see that his card didn't go to where it was supposed to go. It went to the bottom of his deck instead.

"What the—?"

"When monster in Attack Mode get beat by Drawler, he no go to Graveyard, he go to bottom of deck," Dawnrang explained, "So you won't be able to use long time. My turn end."

"Not a bad move," said Hiccup as he drew. He looked at the card and smirked. ' _Good, another good draw_.' He then looked towards Dawnfang. "I summon Dragon Knight Cloudjumper in attack mode!"

The middle-aged knight then appear in the field with a stern look. (ATK: 2000/ DEF: 100)

"In attack mode?" said Dawnfang.

"Yep, but if I lorry that happened by 400 he is allowed to rage a direct attack against you," Hiccup explained.

Cloudjumper then jumped into the air. (ATK:2000-1600)

"Go! Cloud Slicer!" Hiccup commanded.

Dawnfang looked up to see Cloudjumper had already jumped over Drawler and that thing he knew he was struck by several daggers.

Dawnfang: 2400

Hiccup: 3400

"He's taken the lead!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Way to go!" Heather yelled.

"True by attacking Cloudjumper goes into defence mode…" Ragnar observed as Cloudjumper took a defence position. "But if I know Hiccup, he has something planned."

"I'll end my time I place in one card facedown," said Hiccup.

' _He draw good card for man who wear shirt, and have haircut_ ,' Dawnfang thought, looking at Hiccup, ' _But he no match for way of nature!_ '

As Dawnrang rose to his feet, Hiccup looked straight at him. ' _He's getting that weird looking as I again. Well, weirder_.'

"I activate Trap!" Dawnfang paused as his facedown card was raised, "Miracle Draw! This how work. Before I take card from deck, I announce what card I think I draw, and if I right, you take 1000 points of damage. If I wrong, I take damage."

Fishlegs blinked, "So he's just guessing what card he's gonna draw?" He asked, unsure if he heard right.

"Good luck with that, I've never seen such a gutsy move," said Hiccup.

Astrid nodded in agreement. ' _No kidding, nearly 40 cards in that deck and he's gonna get top one?_ ' She thought.

"You think I won't guess right?" Dawnfang asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "You might…"

"No might! The snow no might melt, it will melt!"Damon closed his eyes for a few moments, a look of intense concentration on his face. After a short time, Dawnfang's eyes shot wide open. "Card will be Card Loan!" He declared, drawing his card.

He held up the card to show them all that it was Card Loan.

"He's right!" Fishlegs gasped.

"No way," said Astrid astonished.

"Impossible!" Ragnar gasped.

"Well if it happened, then it is possible," Heather gasped as well.

"Now, thanks to Miracle Draw, you lose 1000 Life Points," Dawnfang told Hiccup, smiling.

Dawnfang: 2400

Hiccup: 2600

Hiccup grunted at the loss, but he didn't do anything else regarding it.

Dawnfang inserted the card he just drew into a slot, "Next, I activate the effect of Card Loan. You gain 1000 Life Point and I lose 1000 Life Point, but I get to draw one card from deck," he paused and drew, "But I return card to bottom of deck at the end of my turn."

Damon: 1400

Hiccup: 3600

"All that to make a draw?" Ragnar asked, unsure of the move.

"He must have a very good hunch what's there, because that mover phase has moved Hiccup more than 2000 points." Astrid folded her arms across her chest.

"Here draw." Dawnfang looked at his card, "I like!" he inserted the card into a slot, "Okay, I activate Dropper, a Spell card. Now you draw card," he looked at Hiccup. "And I guess what it is. I guess correct and all cards in your hand and on field go back to your deck!"

Hiccup drew his card and held it up, the back of it to Dawnfang.

The wild man closed his eyes again and for a short time, he stood there in silence.

"If he guessed correctly Hiccup will be wide open," said Fishlegs.

"There's no way he can pull this off," said Astrid.

"Yeah, Hiccup's deck is unknown to anyone that hasn't seen him use it," Ragnar reminded.

Heather nodded. "He only has a select few cards that people know about, but due to the way his deck is constructed; there's no way Dawnfang can guess right."

Dawnfang opened his eyes, "Polymerization!" He called out.

Hiccup looked at the card and widened his eyes. "You should take a part-time job as a fortune teller," he said turning over the card and everyone gasped, seeing the card was Polymerization.

"That's impossible," said Ragnar.

"Get everything goes back to my deck now," said Hiccup as he took all the cards in his hand, Cloudjumper, and his facedown and placed them back into the rightful place, then shuffled his deck.

Fishlegs shook his head as he saw that Hiccup was now completely defenceless, "This is gonna hurt…"

"Drawler, attack with Stone Roll Wrecker!" Dawnfang ordered.

Drawler rushed at Hiccup, but instead of flattening him, it went through him.

Dawnfang: 1400

Hiccup: 1600

Dawnfang took Card Loan from his field and placed it at the bottom of it deck, "I end my turn."

"All right then, here's mine," said Hiccup as he drew. "I'll summon Dragon Knight Scaldy in defence mode!" The water knight then appeared on his field in defence position. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000) "And since he is the only car I felt I could draw to extra cards."

Hiccup drew his two cards and looked at them. "I end my turn."

"This isn't good," said Ragnar. "With Miracle Draw still out on the field, all Dawnfang has to do is guess the right card again, attack, and it's goodbye eggwiches…"

"Are you saying it's over?"

Everyone turned to Phlegma, who they had completely forgotten about until now. Ragnar shook his head. "No, but all depends on this next draw."

' _This it. Just as I know leaves wilt and grow, I know I can pick my next draw_ …' Dawnfang thought, looking at Hiccup's monster. ' _And with Scaldy in defence mode there is only one card that can help me. With it, I can destroy monster and... destroy Hiccup!_ ' He closed his eyes and concentrated. ' _Shield Crush… Shield Crush… give me Shield Crush_!'

"My next draw will be Shield Crush!" Dawnfang declared and drew his card.

The group was on edge. "If he guess this card correctly it's all over for Hiccup," said Ragnar.

Dawnfang looked at it and his face turned to that of shock, it was the monster Doron. "Oh no!"

"He got it wrong?" They gasped.

They watched as Dawnfang took damage from his own card.

Dawnfang: 400

Hiccup: 1600

"I summon Doron in attack mode!" said Dawnfang and a blackened mummy appeared on his field. (ATK: 900/ DEF: 500).

Hiccup smirked.

Dawnfang growled, "So I guess wrong, it no matter! I still beat you, just wait and see," He looked at his huge stone dozer monster, "Drawler attacks Scaldy with Stone Roll Wrecker!"

Drawler rolled over Scaldy and just like Fanghook, he was flattened. The only differences is that this time he went to the graveyard since he was in defence mode.

"I'm not done yet," said Dawnfang. "Now Doron attacks you! Mad Dash Stinger!"

Then several copies of Doron appeared out of nowhere and began striking Hiccup.

Dawnfang: 400

Hiccup: 700

"He's still hanging in there," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, but next turn will be the decider," said Ragnar.

Dawnfang smiled confidently, "I end turn. And since you only have 700 life point remaining, soon like the seasons end, I end you!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Dawnfang's confident look disappeared as Hiccup shook his head in disbelief. "All this nature stuff… that terrible fake voice."

"Fake voice?!"

Hiccup looked at him, "Dawnfang, you only spent one year out here. I mean it's not like you were raised there as a baby or something… It's time to get real."

"You wrong!"

"If drawing cards were as predictable as snow melting, you'd never guess wrong and you did!" Hiccup went on, "Drawing is all about trusting your gut, your instincts, your heart you have to be in tune with yourself. Even then," he shrugged, "you never always guess every draw right. You're only human, Dawnfang… even if you do get around swinging on vines!"

"That's what makes drawing so great, you never know what's gonna come next! You can only hope… Right now I'm hoping for certain card right now! And I'm now going to get it because I trust in myself. You remember that first card you destroyed with Drawler, how it went to the bottom of my deck instead to the graveyard. Well since you forced me to reshuffle my deck guess who I got."

Hiccup then revealed his card to be Fanghook.

"So, Drawler will have two destroy him again!" Dawnfang snapped.

"Don't think so, not this time," said Hiccup. "I activate Polymerization and I fuse together Dragon Kinght's Fanghook and Torch in order to form Dragon Knight Archer!"

The crimson archer then appeared on the field with bow in hand. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1200)

"What?" Dawnfang gasped.

"Guess at game set and match, because thanks to Archer's ability, Hiccup has just won this game," said Ragnar.

"He's right, Archer's special ability allows need to destroy one spell or trap card on your side of the field and deal you 500 points of damage. And am thinking destroy your Miracle Draw!" said Hiccup pointing at Dawnfang's trap card.

"No!" Dawnfang yelled, but he could only watch as Archer fired his arrow at his Miracle Draw trap card and he got hit by the embers.

Dawnfang: 0

Hiccup: 700 (Winner)

Dawnfang then fell to his knees in defeat.

"Nice going, Hiccup," said Ragnar.

"What a move," said Fishlegs.

Dawnfang pounded the dirt and he even reverted his voice back to normal, "I can't believe I lost! I trained out here for a whole year!"

Hiccup walked up to him, "Hey, you're speaking like a real human being again!"

"Huh? I uh… no get… what you…"

Hiccup shook his head, "Hey, it's okay Dawnfang. Look, just be yourself okay?"

Dawnfang looked up at Hiccup, "You mean it? Because I could really use a shower and a haircut…"

Phlegma walked over and knelt in front of him, "And a shirt," she added, near tears.

She wasn't the only one. Dawnfang was on the verge of crying. He quickly rubbed his eyes, "Well… I was thinking. All that vine-swinging really got my body ripped so…"

"Dawnfang, a shirt…!" Phlegma repeated.

"Yeah…" Dawnfang said as he and Phlegma hugged and everyone shared a laugh together.

"Well, all ends that ends well," said Hiccup.

* * *

About a week later, Dawnfang had returned to Duel Academy, in his former Obelisk uniform and his mane cut. Though it was extreme difficulty going to find a shop that would fit him. Now, he and Hiccupwere in the store, headed for the bin.

"Did anyone draw the eggwich yet?" Hiccup asked Phlegma.

She shook her head smiling, "No not yet! Good luck!"

"Yeah," said Dawnfang as he and Hiccup plunge the hand into the bin. "Better luck then I had with this haircut at least."

"I drew it!"

Both of them looked up to see Astrid holding up a sandwich triumphantly, a large smile on her face.

Ragnar and Heather laughed from a distance as Hiccup desperately tried to trade with another one.

"You know, their so into each other," said Heather.

"I know and so does half the school, but I don't think it's quite dawn on them yet," Ragnar laughed.


	18. The King of the Copycats Part 1

Hiccup was making his way to the card shack and found a whole crowd of people lining up, including Speedfist and Ragnar.

"Hey, Rag, Speedfist!" The two boys to see Hiccup get through the crowd to meet them. "What's up?" He looking over the heads of the others, "have more rare cards shown up?"

"Close, but not exactly," said Speedfist. "It's just a lunch-time tussle…"

"Well, who's duelling?" Hiccup looked to the left and saw the Ra Yellow, who looks like a miniature version of Snotlout.

"Well on the left is guy named Gustav," said Ragnar.

"Never heard of him," said Hiccup. "And who's the other—" Hiccup turned to the other side of the store to see. "Fishlegs!?"

Fishlegs turned at the sound of his name being called and Hiccup, "Hey Hiccup!" He waved back.

"What's going on?" Hiccup asked, making his way out of the crowd.

"A high-stakes duel," Fishlegs explained before pointing to an assortment of posters on the wall above them, "Check it out!"

Hiccup looked up at the wall to see all the posters had the picture of the greatest duellist of all time. Yugi the Undefeated, the King of Games.

"Yugi's deck is going on tour, and its first stop is Duel Academy!" Fishlegs told him. "Isn't that the coolest?"

"Yeah it is!" Hiccup stared longingly at the posters, a happy look on his face, "The original King of Games deck… to see with my very own eyes!?"

"Yeah, and if I win this I get—," Fishelgs turned back to the Hiccup and noticed that he was still staring at the posters. He walked over and waved a hand in front of his face, "Uh… Hello? Hey Hiccup…?"

"Yugi's deck, here! I can't believe it! It's a piece of history… all it's been through…"

Fislhegs nodded, looking back at the posters, "Yeah, think about it! It's the deck he took to Duellist Kingdom, where he beat Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters!"

"Don't forget Battle City!" Hiccup threw in, "Where he used it to beat Kaiba the Revenger and Marik the Menace!"

"I know and the way he used those Egyptian God cards?" Fishlegs reminded him. "Man that was amazing. Of course the deck won't be on tour with the Egyptian Gods. But it will have all the other classics! Aw man, I can't wait!" Fishlegs practically squealed in excitement, "It'll be the biggest thing ever! We gotta go… we have to go!"

Hiccup looked at his bouncy friend, "I'm with you Legs, so what are you doing duelling?" he asked looking at his opponent, "Let's go get some tickets!"

"Hiccup…" Phlegma called out from behind the counter, "That's why Fishlegs is duelling. Because there's only one ticket left. And whoever wins gets it!" She whipped out the ticket stub, "Can you imagine a better prize than that?"

"Uh yeah," Hiccup eyes Fishlegs, "One with two tickets…"

Fishlegs blinked, "Two? You wanna bring a third person, Hiccup?" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket, "I already have my ticket see."

Hiccup stared at his friend showed in the ticket. "Wait a minute, you're duelling for me? What about Rag?"

"Oh, I got my ticket ages ago," said Ragnar revealing his ticket.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "And you din tell me why?"

"Because I thought you already had yours, usually up-to-date with the sort of thing. Your only hope to see the deck is if Fishlegs wins now."

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs. "You do that?"

"Of course! It's the least I can do for all the help you've given me." Fishlegs walked back to his original place on the field, "And I'm gonna win!"

"You're the best, Legs!" Hiccup cheered.

He joined up with Speedfist and Ragnar, who managed to push their way through the crowd. He now had a better look on the field, Fishlegs had his Jetroid on the field, which like all his other monsters was animated and had full Life Points while Gustav had to face down cards and 1000 Life Points.

"My turn!" Gustav drew his card and smiled, "I play Heavy Storm! That, boyo, will destroy all Magic and Trap cards on the field!"

Hiccup looked at Gustav, a little thrown off. Something about his voice felt like something he had felt before, but he couldn't place it in then it hit him. "Wait… Isn't he copying—"

"Spitelout?" Speefist finished. "Not surprising, because Gustav is a copycat duellist and at the moment he's copying Spitelout."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "If that's true then those two-faced towns are—"

Gustav smile widened as two ugly golden Fiendish tokens appeared in a fog, "Now, I'll sacrifice the Wicked Tokens that were created and summon forth, the legendary Ancient Gear Golem!"

Hiccup stared as the huge mechanical monster rose from the fog. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000) ' _Talk about déjà vu_ …' he thought.

"Ancient Gear Golem, attack with Mechanized Melee!" Gustav ordered, waving his hand forward.

The huge machine pulled back its fist and threw a hard right straight towards Fishlegs' monster and his Life Points.

"Not so fast!" Fishlegs called out, "I activate my Jetroid's special ability! When he's attacked, I can play a Trap from my hand like…" he held up the last card from his hand. "Magic Cylinder!"

"Good move, because Ancient Gear monster special abilities prevent the opponent from activating Spell and Trap cards until after the damage step," said Ragnar. "This way you can activate the Traps he wants from his hand."

Fishlegs smiled as a pair of red cylinders appeared between his monster and the Golem, "This Trap takes Mechanized Melee and throws it in reverse!"

Gustav stepped back. "Time out!"

The Golem's Melee attack entered one tube and seconds later, shot through the other one like a rocket and collided with Gustav, knocking away the last of his Life Points.

Fishlegs: 4000 (Winner)

Gustav: 0

"Yeah!" Fishlegs raised his arm in victory, "That's how ya duel!"

"Good move!" said Hiccup clapping. "You sent that Golem to the junkyard!"

Fishlegs rubbed the back of his head, "It was easy, really. I've already seen you beat Spitelout and since Gustav copied his deck, I knew exactly what to do…"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ragnar asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Fishlegs walked over to the counter where Phlegma handed him the stub. He held up the ticket and walked back Hiccup, "Here's your ticket, Hiccup…"

"Legs, you are the best!" Hiccup praised, accepting the ticket.

"All right everyone, show's over…" Phlegma told the crowd, rising from her stool, "Time to get back to class…"

As the crowd dispersed, Gustav could hear what some of them thought about the duel.

"Another stunning performance by Gustav!"

"As a Ra Yellow, he shoulda creamed that Slifer loser!"

"I guess copying a great duellist and being a great duellist are two different things…"

"What a joke!"

"Really! It's a wonder he's still here."

Speedfist looked from side to side, seeing the crowd get thinner and thinner and then turned to Gustav, smiling.

"Well, I think that's the worst of it…" he said.

"Sure, until the next time I lose!" Gustav snapped as his voice went to normal now as he rose from the floor, "Well I've had it!"

The Ra stepped to the side quickly and watched as him ran past them, an angry look on his face.

* * *

Later that night, Gustav sat alone in his dorm room at his desk, countless books and notebooks littering his desk. He thought back to his duels and how many times he lost and banged his fists.

"I don't get it! It doesn't make sense!" he growled, throwing his notes and texts off of his desk, "I watch, I study… and I still lose!"

Papers filled with deck outlines, equations, and formulas fluttered to the floor while the Ra seethed with anger.

"Spitelout's deck… it was as useless as all the rest of them!" he grits his teeth, "Kaiba's or Zane's… it doesn't matter who I copy, I always lose! What is there left to do? After all, if copying the greatest duellists in the world won't help me win… what can?"

As soon as he said that, he felt something brush against his knuckle. He looked down and noticed a small flyer lying in the middle of the desk. Looking at it, Gustav smiled and picked it up, "Of course, it's so obvious! Becoming the greatest duellist."

* * *

Ragnar and Fishlegs were in their dorm room having a small duel of their own. However they both noticed Hiccup weren't joining in as he usually did. He was staring at the wall with his arms folded at his chest, lost in thought.

"What's the matter, Hiccup?" Ragnar asked.

Hiccup lifted his head from his desk, "I can't get Yugi's deck outta my mind…" he replied.

Fishlegs frowned, "Why?"

"Why?" Hiccup raised from the chair, "Look, I can't wait another second to check out those legendary cards. Who's up for going to the exhibit with me right now?"

Ragnar sat up, "You mean while they're setting up?" he nodded, "Good idea, that way we can avoid the rush."

Fishlegs frowned, "So wait, I went through all that trouble duelling to get you that ticket and you're not even gonna use it?"

"Fishlegs…" Hiccup sighed. "We'll go and take a sneak peek tonight, and tomorrow, we'll be the first ones in line!"

"You are something else," Fishlegs shook his head to his friend while before he stood up and followed after Hiccup and Ragnar.

* * *

In the exhibit hall, two security officers had just finished up their rounds and checked in with Spitelout

"All right, Mr Spitelout—"

"That's Doctor Spitelout!"

"Doctor Spitelout…" The officer handed the Head of Obelisk a small chain, "Here's the key to the exhibit hall…"

"Thanks for letting us off early," the second one gave a small salute, "We'll catch you here bright and early tomorrow for the big opening!"

"Have a good one Mister… uh Doctor… uh…"

"Good night, sir."

Spitelout waved at them as they walked away, "Yes, yes, good night!" he called, trying to hold back his laughter. He looked at the key, "Quite a good night, indeed," he turned and started down the hallway, looking at the numerous posters of Yugi on the wall, "After all, how many can say that they were in the presence of greatness? Of the world's most famous duelling deck?"

He opened the door and walked inside. In the middle of the room was a display case with a mini-pedestal inside of it. As he walked closer to it, he noticed something was very wrong. The glass case had a jagged hole on one side, the broken glass crunching as he walked over it. The deck of Yugi Moto, the King of Games, was gone.

"It's… not there!?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the two guards were making their way down the hall, unaware of what had happened.

"You know, I didn't know he was a doctor."

"Yeah, it looks more like a gym coach…"

While these two chatted away, the four eager Slifers turned the corner and quietly ran the opposite way down the hallway, towards the exhibit hall.

As they neared it, the Slifers saw another person making their way towards them.

"Speedfist?" Hiccup blinks.

"Hiccup?" Speedfist blinks back. He then laughed. "Fancy meeting you here. Taking a sneak peak of the deck?"

Hiccup smirked, "Guess great minds do think alike huh?"

A shriek echoed down the hallway at that moment, making all of them look towards the door at the end.

"You hear that?" said Hiccup.

"Sure did," said Fishlegs.

"Someone's in trouble," said Ragnar.

"C'mon, let's help go!" Speedfist urged before running down the hall, closely followed by the others.

They burst into the room to see Spitelout jump at their entrance. He was standing at the display case where the deck was supposed to be; only it wasn't there.

"Spitelout?" Speedfist gasped.

"The display case," said Hiccup gesturing to the smashed glass.

"He stole Yugi's deck!" Ragnar gasped.

Fishlegs frowned, "Why'd you do it Doctor Spitelout?"

The Head of Obelisk waved his hands and shook his head quickly, "Wait, you got it all wrong!"

Hiccup turned to Speedfist, "Let's go get my dad."

Nodding in agreement, everyone turned to leave, but before they could, they all fell face first into the floor when Spitelout tackled onto them. Hiccup saved himself by pressing his hands to the ground to slow down and stop his fall.

Spitelout picked himself up to his knees, begging. "Believe me… I know this looks bad but I didn't steal the deck!" said Spitelout quickly, "I swear!"

"Then who did?" Speedfist asked him.

"You were the only one here, Doctor Spitelout…," Ragnar pointed out.

"Standing right next to the case," Fishlegs added.

Spitelout stood up, arms open, "Then search me! Search me right now!"

Ragnar looked straight into Spitelout's eyes and rose to his feet, "It might be because I don't wanna search him… but I might actually believe Doctor Spitelout is saying."

"Which would mean the real thief is out there somewhere," Hiccup deduced, "Let's split up."

Spitelout nodded rapidly, "Yes, yes! We must find this wrong-doer, this pillager! Of course, when I mean 'we' I mean 'you.'"

* * *

On the coast, on a large outcropping of rock, Gustav stood there in the moonlight, a large green scarf wrapped around his neck, it and his blazer blowing in the wind. He was currently enjoying the prize he had stolen.

He smiled as he fanned out Yugi's own cards, taking in the feel and the beautiful artwork on the cards.

"And it's done. Now that I have the greatest deck," he reached up and pulled the scarf away from his face, "I'll be the greatest duellist in the world!"

A few seconds later Fishlegs arrived. "Hey! Someone just stole Yugi's deck! You know anything?"

Chuckling, Gustav turned around, "Stole? What do you mean stole?" He asked in a much deeper voice, "This is my deck!"

Fishlegs just stood there as Gustav tossed him a Duel Disk, then noticed that the Ra had a disk on his own arm as well.

"Put the disk on and I'll prove it to you! Right here, right now," Gustav challenged, inserting the deck into his now active Duel Disk.

"Aw man…" Fishlegs placed the spare disk on his arm and switched it on.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Ragnar and Speedfist met up at the bridge that connected the island to the docks.

"Dorm's clear," Speedfist reported.

"Nothing in the classrooms," said Ragnar.

"I checked around the forest…" said Hiccup.

A yell from nearby made them turn towards the bridge.

"That was Fishlegs!" Hiccup cried, taking off.

* * *

Gustav smiled as Fishlegs lay there on the rocks, defeated.

"Ah yes… it's good to be the King of Games!" He laughed loudly in his deep voice as Hiccup and the others came running up to their fallen friend.

"Fishlegs, what happened?" Hiccup knelt down to his friend.

"He… has it." Fishlegs slowly sat up, "Yugi's duelling deck… and he beat me with it."

Hiccup gasped and glared at Gustav as he ran over near where Fishlegs was standing at across from the thief. "Fun times over, Gustav!" he snapped, "Give back the deck, right now!"

"Gustav?" the Ra scoffed, "I'm Yugi… Gustav's just some child who would copy other people's decks. You see, with this deck," he held up his Duel Disk, "I'm not just copying the King of Games… I am the King of Games!" he looked at Hiccup, "If you want this deck back, you'll have to prove that I'm not…"

"You really gone off the deep end?" said Hiccup. "Still I never back down from a challenge!"

"Then let's go!"

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled tossing the disk he'd used to him. He strapped it one, inserted his deck and started it up. "Bring it on!"

"It's time to duel!"

Hiccup: 4000

Gustav: 4000

"The non-thief goes first," Hiccup drew his sixth card. He glanced over at his overall hand. "I summon Dragon Knight Fanghook in defence mode!" The young knight then appeared on the field in a defence position. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800). "And I'll do it for me."

"Will it?" said Gustav as he drew and then held up three cards. "I fuse Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet. To create, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast." The lion like beast with a horn on its forehead and the other beast with four arms and two horns on either side of its head appeared, before being sucked into a vortex. From it, emerged a four legged creature with each of the material monster's heads, white wings on its back and a snake tail. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1800)

"Uh-oh, this isn't gonna be pretty," Hiccup commented.

"Now Go, Pulverizing Pounce!" The mythological creature leapt forward and pounced and destroyed the young knight.

"Fishlegs, you just duelled this guy. Any advice on how to beat him?" Ragnar asked.

"No. I tried everything I knew and nothing worked."

"So you're saying that Hiccup doesn't have a chance?"

"I'm saying against Yugi's deck, that's a possibility."

"It's more than that," said Speedfist. "You see, Gustav's a copycat duellist. So to defeat him, you must exploit the weaknesses of the person he's copying. Like Fishlegs did when he copied Spitelout. The problem is now he's copying Yugi, a duellist whose weaknesses are not so well known. If he has any at all. There's no set formula to beat the King of Games, so there's no set formula to beat Gustav now."

"Let's hope Hiccup is able to find it," said Ragnar.

Hiccup drew his next card. "I summon Dragon Knight Barf in attack mode." The mysterious knight appeared on the field. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1000). "And his ability allows me to add Dragon Knight Belch to my hand." Hiccup looked through his deck and pulled out Belch. "And since this worked so well for you I activate our activate my own Polymerization and fuse Bard and Blech together to form Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman." The two knights swirled about each other and merged into the dark green warrior with the twin blades. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800) "And his special ability allows me to attack twice in one turn. So you can say goodbye to Chimera." Twin Swordsman swung his blade at Chimera slicing the beast in half.

Hiccup: 4000

Gustav: 3700

"Nice ability. Now let me show you mine. When Chimera's destroyed, I can summon back Berfomet from the graveyard." The four armed monster reappeared, kneeling down. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 1800)

"Fine, then Twin Swordman will destroy him." He he swung his second blade and destroyed Gustav's defence. ' _That ability saved his life-points from taking a big hit. That deck's living up to the heights_.' Hiccup thought as he thought of what just happened.

"For my turn I placed one card facedown," said Gustav as a card appeared beneath his feet. "And play Monster Reincarnation. So by discarding one card, I get a monster back from my graveyard. Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts." The named monster appeared on the field as Gustav's placed it on his disk. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200) "And now, I activate the magic card, Swords of Revealing Light." Hiccup and his monster were surrounded on all sides by swords of light.

"Great," Hiccup muttered.

"Indeed," said Gustav. "Now for three turns your monster are useless."

"Well that's not good," Hiccup muttered as he observed the predicament he found himself in.

"Three turns?!" Fishlegs flipped.

"It's all right, Legs," said Ragnar calmly. "I'm sure Hiccup has a way around it."

"Let's hope so," Speedfist Bastion muttered.

"Now it's my draw," Hiccup drew. "And I summon Dragon Knight Touch in defence mode." Then the young knight in crimson armour appeared on the field. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1300)

"Nice move," said Ragnar. "Touch's special ability will allow him to destroy Gustav's order spell card and if that wasn't enough it will also deal him 500 point of damage."

Gustav smirked again. "Yes, but not until next round and Touch won't be out that long. I have a track card out; Dark Renewal. It activates when you make a summoning. Now by sacrificing one of your monsters and as well as one of my own, I bring back a Spellcaster monster from my Graveyard."

"Hang on?" said Hiccup. "Last time I checked you only had Chimera and Berfomet in their."

"Remember when I played Monster Reincarnation?"

"Oh, right. I forgot," Hiccup sighed, bracing for what's about to come.

"Now I'll bring back that Spellcaster. Gazelle, Touch, make some room. For the one, the only." The two named monsters turned into streams of light which flowed into the red and gold coffin. "My friend, Dark Magician!" The coffin opened up, from which emerged Yugi's most famous monster. (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100)

"I am star struck," said Hiccup with an awed smile. "The Dark Magician is like the headliner of Yugi's entire deck."

"Think he'll give an autograph?" Fishlegs wondered.

"I wish I brought my camera," Ragnar added.

'Well played,' Speedfist thought. 'I doubt Yugi could have done it better. Gustav's copying him perfectly and that's not good for Hiccup.'

"Well, Twin Swordsman you might not be able to attack yet, but you can still defend and that's exactly what I'm going to have you," said Hiccup switching Twin Swordsman to defence mode. "It's your turn now, Gustav."

"That's Yugi," said Gustav drawing. "And I choose to play the spell Thousand Knives." A multitude of knives with white glowing blades appeared in the air on Gustav's field. "And when I activated with Dark Magician on the field, they can be used to destroy anyone of your monsters." The purple clad magician pointed his staff forward, commanding the knives to Twin Swordsman and destroy him.

"Hiccup's Twin Swordsman just got cut down to size," Fishlegs moaned.

"And it gets worse, because now is build a completely empty," Ragnar pointed out.

"This won't be good," Speedfist commented.

"Still star struck? Well, let's see how you like getting struck, by your star. Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack." The Magic hurled a ball of magic energy from the tip of his staff at Hiccup.

Hiccup: 1500

Gustav: 3700

"Hiccup!"

"That hurt," Hiccup moaned as his points fell down by a large margin.

"Give up," Gustav called out.

"Never!"

"That's the spirit. Never give up. Always believe in the heart of the cards. That's what I say," he said.

"Yeah sure" Hiccup muttered as he drew his card. "Dragon Knight Druid in defence mode." The elderly druid and appeared on the field. (ATK: 500/DEF: 1100) "That's it."

"There may be no known formula for defeating Yugi's deck, but it looks like Hiccup's still designing one," said Speedfist. "And if he's planning what I think he is, then it might work."

"Don't forget, with my spell in play, you can't attack." Gustav reminded as he drew. "But I can. Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack." The magician launched another ball of magical energy which vaporized the druid.

"You just activated his special ability. When he's destroyed, I get back a Dragon Knight for my Graveyard. And I'll think I'll choose Dragon Knight Fanghook." Hiccup took out his Fanghook.

"Way to play," Gustav nodded. "You really show promise."

"You really start to get on my nerves kid," said Hiccup as he drew. "Now I play Dragon Knight Hookfang in defence mode." The muscular Dragon Knight appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000). "And I summon Fanghook from my hand if Hookfang is on the field."

Then Fanghook reappeared on the field next to Hookfang in a defence position. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800). "And I'll finish my turnoff with one facedown."

Hiccup looks at the field. ' _All I'm doing is playing for time. What I really need is a monster that can go toe to toe with the Dark Magician, but sadly I don't have that kind of firepower._ ' Hiccup looked at his hand and none of the cars he had could match up with the Dark Magician. ' _But if my plan works then that Dark Magician won't be a problem._ '

"Well, it's been three turns now," said Speedfist.

"Then that means Hiccup can attack," said Ragnar.

"Hiccup, you hear that? The spell is over you can attack next turn!" Fishlegs yelled as the swords vanished.

"That's assuming that Hiccup has a next turn," said Gustav as he drew. "Dark Magician! Attack Fanghook!"

"I don't think so! I activate my Spell Card Dragon Knight Training!" said Hiccup. He revealed his facedown which showed the image of a Dragon Knight in brown dragon-like armour in arena training, Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang and Barf and Belch. "Thanks to this spell card I get a summon a Dragon Knight so long as I sacrifice a Dragon Knight on my side of the field."

Hiccup then pointed at Fanghook. "So, Fanghook make way for Dragon Knight Grump in attack mode!"

Fanghook disappeared and was replaced with a knight in brown dragon-like armour holding a large hammer in his hand. (ATK: 2100/ DEF: 2400). "And Grump's special ability increases the attack points of any Dragon Type on my side of the field and in case you don't know this all my Dragon Knight are considered dragons."

So they both Hookfang and Grump got a power boost. (ATK: 2100-2600), (ATK: 1600-2100).

"All right!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Now Hiccup's got a monster that can beat Dark Magician."

"And every other monster in Yugi's deck," Speedfist added. "After all, with no Egyptian God cards, that Dark Magician is the strongest card Gustav has."

Gustav laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your friends. They're quite wrong. You see, while it is true the Dark Magician is the strongest monster card in my deck, but as a duellist, you must know that it's rarely about the card, it's what you do with it. And what I'm going to do is play this, Dedication Through Light and Darkness." The image of a card with a monster quite similar to the Magician of Black Chaos appeared on Gustav's field. Black energy surrounded it and extended towards the Dark Magician, engulfing him as Gustav spoke. "It takes Dark Magician and turns him into something even more powerful. The legendary, Dark Magician of Chaos."

"Chaos?" Fishlegs asked.

"Not good," said Ragnar.

"Indeed," Speedfist agreed. "It's one of the strongest cards you'll ever see."

The Spell card behind Gustav glowed once more and a dark, blurry figure swooped out of it, darting back and forth a few times before coming to a stop in between Gustav and Hiccup. This new Spellcaster had a tight, black suit, with red rings around his arms and legs. On his head, was a wide black headdress that complimented the long black hair and pale blue face. It twirled around is pointed black staff a few times before coming to a complete stop. (2800/2600)

"By successfully summoning him, I can take a spell card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, so I choose Monster Reincarnation," He reached down and took a card that popped out. "And in case you haven't done the math, Grump doesn't have the most attack points anymore. Chaos Magician does."

"Not good," Hiccup gulped.

"Yes!" Gustav yelled. "Now watch them all in action. Scepter Strike." The newest Magician fired off a powerful sphere of magical energy that slammed into Grump, thus defeating him.

Hiccup: 1300

Gustav: 3700

"Just face it. This deck and I fit perfectly. Always has, always will."

"Not if I can help it!" said Hiccup. ' _Of course to be honest I don't know if I can. I'm facing against the King of Games deck and I have no idea on how to beat it_.'

* * *

Dragon Knight Grump

ATK: 2100/ DEF: 2400

6 level

EARTH

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon Type while on the Field or in the Graveyard. So long as this card is face up on the field all Dragon-Type monsters you control gain 500 attack points.

Dragon Knight Training

Quick Play Spell Card

By sacrificing one Dragon Knight on your side of the field you can special summon one Dragon Knight Monster from your hand which level is 6 or below.

Card image: Dragon Knight Grump training Dragon Knights Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch in Dragon Knight Arena.


	19. The King of the Copycats Part 2

Hiccup's duel against Gustav was not going down well, he was losing badly on both monsters and Life Points.

"Hiccup's in deep trouble," Fishlegs commented.

"Unfortunately Fishlegs, that's the understatement of the year. Look what he's up against. The Dark Magician of Chaos, nearly full life points, the King of Games' deck. The trouble isn't deep, it's subterranean."

"I hate to say it, but Hiccup might have met his match," said Ragnar.

' _Okay, not only does this guy have Yugi's deck, but he thinks he's Yugi. And the only way to set him straight is by beating him_ ,' Hiccup thought to himself. "Well, always did want to see how I stacked up against my idol. Guess this is as close as I'll get. My turn."

Hiccup glanced over at his hand. "I summon Dragon Knight Sharpshot in defence mode." The young knight appeared on the field. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200) "Next play one card facedown and end my turn."

"Interesting move," said Gustav as he drew. "But we sure your move of my own. I summon Kuriboh in attack mode." Then the ferry fiend appeared on the field. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200)

"Why did he do that?" Fishlegs asked puzzled.

"So he can get rid of his two monsters what else," said Ragnar.

"Now Dark Magician of Chaos attack Hookfang!" Gustav commanded.

"Not so fast, I've got a trap! Dragon Knight Bodyguard!" said Hiccup revealing his facedown card. "Now thanks to this trap card I switch your attack to another one of my monsters and I choose Sharpshot."

Sharpshot then jumped into the path of the Dark Magician of Chaos and took the hit. Naturally this caused him to be destroyed instantly.

"You got off easy, the next turn you won't," said Gustav. "I end with a facedown."

' _Sharpshot took one for the team there_ ,' Speedfist thought. _'Loosing Hookfang would have put Hiccup in a tough spot_.'

"My go!" Hiccup yelled. "And I activate Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards." Hiccup drew his cards. "And next I summon Dragon Knight Scaldy in attack mode." The water knight then appeared on the field in a burst of scalding hot water. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1100) "And next I'll equip him with Dragon Knight Crossbow which doubles as attack points and it comes with a bonus package meaning I won't take any damage if you destroy him."

Scaldy grabbed the crossbow in his hand. (ATK: 800-1600)

"And now I'll have attack Kuriboh!" Hiccup yelled.

Scaldy fired his crossbow at Kuriboh.

"Go, Scadly! Clean that Kuriboh clock!" Fishlegs yelled.

"But which Kuriboh?" Gustav asked.

"Uh-oh," said Hiccup realising what was coming next.

"I play the spell card Multiply!" Gustav yelled revealing his facedown.

At once Kuriboh was destroyed and then four others took his place. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200)x4

"I'm seeing quadruple," said Hiccup.

"That's the magic of Multiply," said Gustav. "By sacrificing one Kuriboh I now summon Kuriboh tokens on all open spaces on my Monster Card Zone. Of course, your attack is still in play, but significance has been deflated."

Hiccup watched as his attack destroyed only one of the tokens. "Fine. Then I'll just play two facedowns and then my turn."

"Very well," said Gustav and drew. "And I'll play this! The Card of Sanctity, it forces each of us to draw until we have six cars in our hands."

Hiccup drew six while Gustav drew five. Gustav looked at his hand and smiled. "Excellent, I drew the monster Watapon. When he's drawn with the effect of a spell, trap or monster, I can summon it to the field." A little white puffball with blue eyes and antennas appeared on the field. (ATK: 300/DEF: 200) "But he won't be there for long, because now I sacrifice him, and bring out, Dark Magician Girl." The blond female magician dressed in her blue and pink outfit took her place on the field. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700)

"Wow. She's even cuter in person," Hiccup remarked.

"She has both beauty and brawn. For every Dark Magician in the graveyard, she gains 300 attack points." (ATK: 2000-2300)

"And while on the subject of Dark Magicians don't forget about this one! Dark Magician of Chaos attack!"

Dark Magician of Chaos blasted Scaldy with a magical blast, fortunately Hiccup's equip spell prevented him from losing any Life Points.

"And now Dark Magician Girl attacks Hookfang! Dark Burning Attack!"

Dark Magician Girl fired a pulse of dark magic straight at Hookfang. "Not so fast, I activate one of my facedowns! Dragon Defender!" Hiccup yelled. "Thanks to this card Hookfang can't be destroyed in battle."

Dark Magician Girl's attack hit Hookfang, but he held his ground and was unfazed.

"Excellent move, but sooner or later you will fall," said Gustav. "The Heart of the Cards are a powerful force indeed."

"You may hit me where a few lucky shots, but that doesn't mean you've won yet," said Hiccup as he drew. "Since you have a monster out, I summon this car with one less sacrifice style trade in Hookfang for Dragon Knight Toothless."

Hookfang vanished and then out of the sky slamming hard onto the ground was Toothless. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2200)

"So we're duelling a Yugi wannabe," said Toothless.

"It's the only way to get that deck back," said Hiccup. "You ready to do this, bud."

"Like you have to ask."

"Okay, I now play the field spell card Dragon Knight Arena," said Hiccup.

The group summary found themselves in an arena.

"What's the meaning of this arena!?" Gustav asked.

"Meaning? To kick your butt Gustav!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Thanks to this change of scenery my Dragon Knights gain 1000 point advantage when they do battle with a monster that weaker than they are," Hiccup explained. "And in case you haven't noticed Toothless is weaker than your Magician of Chaos."

They watched as Toothless got a power increase. (ATK: 2500-3500)

Gustav gasped at the increase. "But wait, 3500 attack points that's—"

"Enough power to take out your Magician of Chaos," said Hiccup. He then turned to Toothless. "Okay, bud, you know what to do. Plasma Blast!"

"Thought you never ask," said Toothless and took off into the air.

He then fired an orb of plasma straight at the Magician of Chaos and he was destroyed instantly.

Hiccup: 1300

Gustav: 3000

"And let's not forget Toothless special power, now you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points," said Hiccup.

Toothless then fired another plasma blast at Gustav and he was knocked back quite a bit.

Hiccup: 1300

Gustav: 200

"All right, now that the comeback," said Ragnar.

"When you go Hiccup!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Personally I find it hard to believe that I'm beating Yugi's deck," said Hiccup rubbing the back of his head.

Speedfist was impressed as well. ' _Simply remarkable_ ,' he thought. ' _Gustav is duelling just as the King of Games would and yet Hiccup is staying competitive, winning even. Sure he was a bit overwhelmed at first by Yugi's deck, but now he's really turn things around. Who knows, maybe his deck will be going on tour fight beside Yugi's, assuming he can win it back at his_.'

"And with that I'll my turn," said Hiccup. He then looked at Gustav. ' _Okay, just one more attack and I'll have beaten the King of Games deck._ '

"Hiccup, he's all yours!" Fishlegs yelled. "You got him!"

"You have nothing," said Gustav as he drew. "My deck is prepared for all contingency. First I'll switch Dark Magician Girl to defence mode. Then I'll play two cards facedown and then I activate the spell card Monster Reincarnation and next I'll activate Emergency Provisions sacrificing my three cards again back 3000 Life Points."

Hiccup: 1300

Gustav: 3200

"Finally, due to Monster Reincarnation I'll take back the Kuriboh I just lost. So, did you follow all of that?"

"Yeah, I did and it was a pretty good move," said Hiccup as he drew. "But it's nothing compared to the move am about to do. Firstly I activate the spell Card Costs down now is anyone cover my hand I can lower the levels of all my monsters in my hand. Which means I summon Dragon Knight Stormfly as a level 4 monster."

The beautiful female knight appeared on the field alongside Toothless with her axe over her shoulder and nodded at Toothless.

"You know I can't tell who's cuter, Dark Magician Girl or Dragon Knight Stormfly," said Fishlegs.

"You're on your own with that, I'm not touching that question with a 10 foot pole," said Ragnar.

"Next I play the spell card the Warrior Returning Alive so I can get back Hookfang and necktie played Double Summon and like its name sets gives me the power to summon twice so I can bring Hookfang back for repeat performance."

The muscular knight appeared on the field and flexes muscles that Stormfly, just gave him an annoyed look.

"Now Toothless take out the Dark Magician Girl with Plasma Blast!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless fired his orb of plasma at Dark Magician Girl and she was destroyed instantly. "Don't forget about his special ability, you get hit for damage equal to the attack points of the Dark Magician Girl."

Gustav placed himself as Toothless fired another plasma at him.

Hiccup: 1300

Gustav: 900

"Good thing I added points last turn," said Gustav.

"Then it's a good thing I've got a couple of attacks left or should I say got a whole lot of attacks left thanks to Stormfly," said Hiccup. He then looked at Stormfly. "You see she has her own special ability, an ability that allows it to attack all your monsters at once.

"My, Hiccup is impressing more and more every turn," said Speedfist. "What skilful play. Now he will be able to destroy all of Gustav's monsters at once."

"Stormfly, attack with Dragon Axe!"

Stormfly then charged and destroyed all the remaining Kuriboh tokens that were out on the field.

"Now that how you duel," said Fishlegs.

"All right, one more attack and he'll defeat Gustav," said Ragnar.

"Yes," Speedfist agreed. "And with Hookfang on the field his next attack will be right now."

"All right, Yugi's deck is about to be saved," said Fishlegs.

"And Hiccup will be one of the few guys who've beating it," Ragnar added.

"Hookfang finish this with Blazing Mace!" Hiccup commanded.

Hookfang then jumped straight towards Gustav with his mace raised up high and blazing away like a bonfire.

However, Gustav wasn't worried one bit and they were about to find out why. "Sorry, but you're forgetting about someone. Kuriboh!"

Then suddenly Kuriboh appeared on the field right between Gustav and Hookfang. This meant that Hookfang's attack hit him instead of Gustav.

Hiccup was confused about what just happened. "What the—?"

"By discarding Kuriboh from my hand I don't take any damage from Hookfang's little attack," Gustav explained. "Good thing Monster Reincarnation let me bring him back from the Graveyard last turn."

"I forgot about that," said Hiccup mentally kicking himself.

Gustav then looked at his Duel Disk. "Thank you, Kuriboh. That move takes me back to our duel against Kaiba the Revenger in Battle City. Those we're some good time, weren't they old friend."

Hiccup and the others looked at him as if he completely lost his mind.

"Battle city? This guy has gone batty," said Fishlegs.

"Just humour him," said Ragnar.

"Now then let's continue this for Kuriboh, his fall won't be in vain," said Gustav as he drew. "I play Pod of Greed, which allows me to draw two extra cards." He drew his two extra cards and smiled. "Perfect, the Heart of the Cards has served me again."

Hiccup do know what he was planning, but he bet it was something big.

"I remove one dark monster and light monster from my graveyard," said Gustav as Kuriboh and Watapon appeared on the field.

"Wait a sec, pause and rewind," Hiccup spoke up. "You're removing them why, Gustav?"

"I've never seen this. Is it a summoning?" Fishlegs asked.

Ragnar and Speedfist exchange looks apparently they knew what was going on.

"He's not doing what I think he is," said Ragnar.

"He could," said Sppedfist. Fislhegs looked at them and Speedfist began to explain. "There are two monsters that can be summoned like this. Two rare cards of such power. Duellists have scoured the world over to add them to their collection. The first is Chaos Emperor Dragon Envoy of the End. A card so powerful, it has been banned from official duel monster tournaments. The second had comparable powers to the Chaos Emperor, but has never been forbidden on the counterfeit scarcity. In fact, some say not a single copy exists."

"Is that so?" said Gustav. "Well they're wrong, because I have one right here. Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning." They all watched, stunned at the warrior that emerged from the vortex created by Kuriboh and Watapon's disappearance. He had dark blue armour outlined in gold with a ruby on the helm and chest plate, a triangular shield with the same make as his armour to the and wicked curved sword. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500)

"So Yugi really did have that card. I always thought it was just a rumour," Hiccup mentioned.

"I'm afraid not. This card's been a part of my deck for a long time. But I only take him out for… special occasions. Like now, Luster Blade attack." Luster Soldier aimed for Toothless and struck the monster with a barrage of blades destroying him.

Hiccup: 800

Gustav: 900

Hiccup winced at the pain. "That hurt."

"Well that was just the beginning, now I'll show you the true power of this card," said Gustav. "You see if the Black Luster Soldier is able to destroy a monster in battle he is allowed to attack again."

"No way!" Hiccup gasped.

"Oh man, now signed to see why monsters like this are outlawed," Fishlegs whimpered.

"And now! Black Luster Soldier attack Stormfly and end this!" Gustav commanded.

"He through," said Speedfist. "Hiccup's Life Points can't take another hit."

"It's over!" Gustav yelled as Black Luster Soldier charged towards Stormfly.

"Not yet, I still got a facedown card!" Hiccup yelled with him in his face down card to be Dragon Knight Spirit.

Then suddenly Toothless reappeared placing himself between Black Luster Soldier and Stormfly. Black Luster Soldier struck Toothless with his sword, who shielded Stormfly.

"What's this?" said Gustav.

"It's not the end of the duel," Hiccup explained. "We see thanks to my Dragon Knight Spirit trap card since you destroyed a Dragon Knight this turn I can shield another monster and reduce all damage to 0."

"Find then I'll activate my Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your arena," said Gustav covering the spell card in his hand. A powerful gust of wind blew around them and Hiccup's Field Spell vanished. "I'll just finish you off next turn. The Heart of the Cards will see to that."

' _He may be right_ ,' Hiccup thought. ' _Without my Field Spell I don't have anything strong enough to take on the Black Luster Soldier. Yugi's deck is just so powerful I thought I could win, but now I don't know_.'

' _Giving up? That so unlike you Hiccup_ ,' said a voice.

Hiccup looked up and saw Toothless appearing in front of him. "What else can I do? He's got the Heart of the Cards on his side."

' _No he hasn't_ ," said Toothless.

"What do you mean no? Come on, that's Yugi's deck," said Hiccup. Hiccup then realised what Toothless meant. ' _Wait a sec, that's it, that's Yugi's deck. There is no way the Heart of the Cards can be on Gustav's side. The Heart of the Cards comes from believing in your own cards not some ones you've stole. That's what the real Yugi told me all those years ago._ ' Toothless nodded as Hiccup reached for his deck. ' _And I believe in my deck. So if the Heart of the Cards is on any one side it's on mine._ '

"It's my turn," said Hiccup as he drew. Everyone around him then suddenly felt a gust of wind and Hiccup reveal the card he drew without even looking at it. "I activate Monster Reborn and I bring back my old pal, Toothless."

Toothless then reappear on the field alongside Stormfly and Hookfang.

"He didn't even look at it," Fishlegs blinked.

"He's trusting in his deck," said Ragnar.

"Sounds like Hiccup's got something planned," said Speedfist.

"Now I equip Toothless with Dragon Knight Axe giving him an additional 800 attack points," said Hiccup.

Toothless outstretched his hand and an axe appeared in the palm of his hand. (ATK: 2500-3300)

"3300!" Gustav gasped.

"Got that right and now I have attacked the Black Luster Soldier! Go, Dragon Axe Bash!"

Toothless then rush straight towards Black Luster Soldier and slammed it straight at him. And once he was destroyed leaving a dumbstruck Gustav alone.

"He's gone! My Luster Soldier is gone!" Gustav cried.

Hiccup: 800

Gustav: 600

"He wasn't yours to begin with," Hiccup reminded. "Beside you got other things to worry about or did you forget about Toothless' special ability. Now you take damage equal to his ATK points."

Gustav looked up and saw Toothless firing a plasma or straight at him.

Hiccup: 800 (Winner)

Gustav: 0

"Looks like you will be using that deck anymore," said Hiccup.

The Ra fell to his knees, "I've been beaten… even with my…" he shook his head as a few of the cards fell to the ground, "Yugi's cards," he whimpered, his voice normal now, "What's wrong with me? Why can't I ever win?!"

"The answer to that is obvious…"

Everyone turned to see Astrid, Heather, and Wolflegs walk into view from around a large boulder.

Gustav rose a little bit, "Hey… you're Wolflegs…"

"Big bro?" Fishlegs blinked.

"Why are you guys here?" Hiccup asked the trio.

Wolflegs glanced at him, "Why else? To see the deck, but it was gone…"

"We snuck into the exhibit hall, but all we found was broken glass. We knew the thief couldn't have gotten far so we searched," said Astrid. "And here we are."

"We came earlier, but didn't want to interrupt the duel." Wolflegs told them

"Kind of you," Speedfist smiled.

"That was an impressive match," said Heather.

"Wait a minute, you saw it all? Me and Gustav? The whole thing?" Hiccup asked stunned.

"Not just us. Your match attracted quite a lot of attention." They then looked to where Wolflegs was pointing and saw all the people higher up who had been watching all along.

"I do know I had an audience," said Hiccup as they clapped, impressed by the duel that had taken place.

"That Hiccup can duel," said a Ra.

"You think he tutors?" another Ra asked.

"What now?" Gustav asked.

"Well kid, the punishment for stealing has always been clear: straight up expulsion. But, since I think pretty much everyone enjoyed seeing Yugi's deck in a duel rather than a display case, I doubt anyone will turn you in."

"Don't swear it, Gustav, but you've got to tell us how you so good with those Spellcasters?" a Ra asked.

"What difference will it make? I lost."

"Even if you won it wouldn't have been you," said Hiccup.

"What do you mean?" Gustav asked puzzled.

"You didn't win or lose, because you want being yourself," said Hiccup.

Gustav stared at him in confusion.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so cryptic," Astrid advised.

"Let me attempt to interpret for him," said Wolflegs. "You'll never win or lose until you put yourself out there. That means creating your own deck and your own strategies, not piggybacking off of someone else. After all, no amount of studying will make you able to use someone else deck as well as them."

"Exactly, I only won because I trusted in the deck I built," said Hiccup. "They say by losing you learn from your mistakes, but in order to do that you need to build your own deck so you can learn and grow as a duellist."

"Yeah, ok."

* * *

The next morning saw the exhibit hall filled with students looking at the posters of Yugi and his deck in the display case. Hiccup was smiling as he, Ragnar, Heather and Astrid were hanging out together. "Would you look at that? Everything's back to normal."

Ragnar shrugged. "Well, as normal as things get around this place."

"Good point," Heather smirked.

"You certainly can't say that things aren't dull around here," said Astrid.

"So what's that you've got there Hiccup?" Ragnar asked, noticing the rolled up poster he held.

"This? Just an autographed poster of the King of Games. Pretty cool huh?"

Ragnar leaned over to Heather. "I don't have the heart to tell him that I saw Gustav talking in the Yugi voice when he put the deck back. And then he got into the merchandise, and he had a pen."

Heather giggled and Hiccup just the two of them

"Hey guys!"

"What's up Legs?"

"Hiccup, do you have your deck on you?"

Hiccup blinked. "Sure I've got it right—" He stopped when he opened his deck case and found it was empty. "Where's my deck?"

"I think I may know and you're not going to like it," said Fishlegs.

* * *

After running out the main building and through the woods, they came across Gustav. Only catch, was that he was wearing a Slifer Red jacket, had the haircut as Hiccup, as well as the same shirt and pants. He was even standing on one leg while balancing on a prosthetic leg.

"Gustav? What're you doing?" Hiccup as trying to control his anger.

"Gustav? Who's this Gustav? My name is Hiccupand I'm a Slifer Red. Now we're gonna duel!" He then toppled over, thanks to the prosthetic leg.

The five of them slapped their foreheads with the palm of their hands. "Maybe you should do without the leg," Hiccup advised and that he realised what he was saying. "What am I saying? Give me back my deck!"

"Your deck? This is my deck," said Gustav pulling out Hiccup's deck. "Let's duel."

"Here we go again," Astrid sighed.


	20. The Maiden in Love

The morning sun shone upon Academy Island while most of the inhabitants of the Slifer Red dorm were in the lunchroom for breakfast. They were interrupted from their usual routine when Gobber stepped in with a message. "Could I please have everyone's attention? Eyes forward students."

Hiccup and the others looked up, it was very rare for Gobber to have an announcement during breakfast.

"Now, please join me in welcoming a new transfer student. Blaze Flareson." They all saw blaze who was short and had black hair sticking out a bit from underneath his cap, a Slifer Red jacket and brown eyes which were generally hidden because he mostly kept his head down.

"Man, to the transfers get shorter or shorter?" Ragnar asked.

"Yeah, he dresses goofier than me…"

"Come on, be nice," said Hiccup. He then got up and approached a Blaze. "Blaze, welcome to Slifer." He then outstretched his hand, but Blaze recoiled a bit and placed an arm around his shoulders, attempting to be friendly.

"I think you rather jump the gun Hiccup," Gobber chuckled. "You see Blaze will be here for a short time. He scored nearly perfect on all his entrance exams."

"Ohh…" said Hiccup.

"You see, it is academy policy that all transfer students start out in the Slifer dorm. But, with his high marks, he'll be moved up to Ra Yellow within a few days."

Hiccup smiled at this. "Well good for Blaze. If he needs a room, he can share our room."

"Yeah!" said Fishlegs and Ragnar together.

"I agree," Gobber stated. "Blaze, you can stay with Hiccup during our time with us." He turned to the mute boy. "Do you mind showing Blaze where the room is? Now why don't you say hello to your new roommates."

"Hello," said Blaze in a low, soft voice.

* * *

Later on, the students of all three dorms were gathered in one of the larger classrooms and waiting for an announcement. People were talking amongst themselves, guessing what it could be about. Soon enough, Chancellor Stoick's face appeared on the screen. "Settle down people, attention please."

"To announcement in one day, must be a new record," said Hiccup.

After they were all calmed down, he began talking again. "Good. Now the big match against our rival school, North Academy, is coming up. Last year, Wlflegs, our student rep, whooped em good. And this year we can win the school duel again."

Fishlegs noticed Blaze looking at Wolflegs. "Hey Blaze, did you know Wolflegs' my brother?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's pretty cool."

"Now we still haven't decided on who is going to represent us this year. So if you keep hitting those books and duelling hard, you may be the one who gets the honour."

"Very interesting…" Hiccup smiled. "Did you hear what he said? It could be me in this match."

"You never know it could be me," said Ragnar.

"Or it could be me," said Fishlegs said. "But we might as well face it guys. It'll probably be Wolflegs who gets the spotlight again."

"Yeah, he is good," Hiccup admitted.

"He's amazing," Blaze muttered with a dreamy look in his eyes. Hiccup and Ragnar looked a little creeped out by the comment.

* * *

After class they exited the campus.

"I doubt my father would give Wolflegs another shot," said Hiccup. "It's more likely he'll choose another candidate."

"Are you hoping that you're that candidate?" Ragnar asked.

"I'm just saying that there are other great duellist than Wolflegs," said Hiccup.

"Wolflegs did beat you in a duel Hiccup," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Even if it was close match," said Ragnar.

"That's true," Fishlegs admitted.

Then they saw Blaze running past and went out of sight behind a large pillar.

"Blaze?" said Hiccup.

Hiccup frowned, something wasn't feeling quite right and took off running after the new kid.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs blinked.

"I just gotta check something out!" Hiccup called out.

Ragnar and Fishlegs stared in confusion and Ragnar remembered Blaze's little comment.

* * *

Hiccup followed Blaze to the Boy Obelisk Blue Dorm and saw Blaze eased his way across a long, thick tree branch that ended just over to a balcony. Quickly and quietly, he jumped off and made his way into the room.

' _First Blaze makes that weird comment about Wolflegs, now he's sneaking into the Obelisk Blue dorm… something's not adding up…_ ' Hiccup thought. After climbing the tree, both Slifers entered the dorm room Blaze had entered and he stood there in silence as they watched Blaze practically cuddle with a deck case close to his face.

"What is he doing…?" Hiccup whispered. "This is getting very strange..."

"C'mon guys, let's get upstairs!"

Hiccup turned and looked down to see Wolflegs and a trio of other Obelisks approaching the dorm building. He ran into the room where Blaze was still cuddling with the deck.

Blaze jumped at the sudden voice and stared at the other Slifer, "Where'd you come from?"

"It doesn't matter, we gotta go!" Hiccup interrupted, "If you are caught here, you will get booted out for trespassing!" He urged.

Both of them glanced at the door as different voices and laughs were heard from the other side.

Hiccup gulped and grabbed Blaze's hand, "I'll explain later, leave now!" he hissed, pulling hard on the smaller boy's hand.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Blaze let out a gasp as his hat fell to the floor and a loud click filled the air. Hiccup turned to see Blaze's hair became very long and a frightened look came to his face.

He gasped, "You… you're… you're uh…," he stopped and watched as Blaze grabbed the hat and ran out, leaping onto the branch before sliding down the tree to escape, "Uh… outta here, I guess," he finished, running for the tree branch as well. It made sense now! That weird little comment that Blaze made about Wolflegs made sense.

'He' was really a 'she'.

"Hey, you! What are you doing here?!"

Hiccup's face paled when Obelisk trio approached the room with Wolflegs right behind them.

"Hey Wolf, look who we caught sneaking in your room." One of them said.

Then they turned to the pile of cards Blaze was holding. "And he was digging through your cards, too!"

"It's not what you think," said Hiccup holding his hand out in defence. "You see there's a perfect logical explanation."

"Save it, Slifer Slacker! We're taking you to Dr. Spitelout!"

Hiccup looked over the balcony. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Hiccup then jumped and grabbed hold of the tree branch. He then released his grip, but instead of landing on his to feed his prosthetic gave way and he fell face first. He looked at his prosthetic and even though it was damaged it should be able to hold together long enough to reach the Slifer dorm.

"Good thing I always carry a spare at the dorm," he said as he ran.

From the balcony the three Obelisks saw him running into the woods.

"Let's go after him!"

As they were all having a fallout, Wolflegs spotted the hair clip among his scattered deck. He put two and two together and said, "Let Hiccup go…"

"WHAT!?" The Obelisks gasped.

"Just listen to me," he said forcefully as the other Obelisks obliged and nodded their heads.

* * *

Back with Hiccup, he was leaning against a tree to catch his breath. "Phew! Wait until I tell the guys!"

Behind another tree, Blaze popped out hearing Hiccup's talk. "You won't be telling anyone anything…" Blaze spoke in a little girl's voice, her real voice.

* * *

Night-time found Wolflegs waiting at the docks by himself, though he was soon joined by Astrid and Heather. "Wow, a cold, wet dock in the middle of the night. You sure haven't forgotten how to show a girl a good time," said Astrid sarcastically. Heather laughed lightly at this.

Wolflegs looked at them seriously. "I caught Hiccup snooping in my room today," he answered.

"Hiccup? What on Midgard would he doing in your room?"

"I don't know. But I found this." He showed them a wooden barrette with a cute monster on it.

Astrid and Heather examined it for a second. "That's a girl's hair clip," Heather pointed out.

"I don't think this belongs to Hiccup?" said Astrid.

Wolflegs just as there in silence.

* * *

Back at the Slifer Dorm, or rather below it, Hiccup and Blaze were sitting on the rocks and staring out at the ocean. Hiccup hadn't got the chance to explain things to Ragnar and Fishlegs, because Blaze had arrived and demanded to speak with him privately.

"Listen, Hiccup," she started. "The fact that I'm a girl has to remain a secret."

"But what for Blaze?" Hiccup asked. Blaze sighed. "Look I don't want to blow your cover, but if I'm going to keep a secret I think I should at least know why it is one."

Blaze immediately started blushing. "No! You don't need to know why! Nobody does you got that?"

"Fine," said Hiccup bending down at his backpack. "But if you're not going to tell me. You would least have two duel me."

Blaze turned surprised. "What?" She then saw him play now to duel disk. "A duel? But how will that solve anything?"

"Because in a duel the truth always comes out."

"Fine, but if I win you keep quiet without me having to explain myself."

"This duel will tell me everything."

Above them, Ragnar and Fishlegs stared down at them, trying to hear what they were saying.

"Well, we found him," said Ragnar.

"But what are they talking about down there?" Fishlegs asked.

"I don't know, but I have a pretty good idea," said Ragnar.

"Fancy meeting you guys here," said a voice.

They turned and found Astrid, Heather and Wolflegs approaching them. Heather, who'd been the one that had spoken, approached Ragnar and looked down over the cliff.

"I take it by your arrival that you know what's going on?" said Ragnar.

"Blaze's not really a guy, she's a girl," Wolflegs explained.

"Yeah, the Obelisk Blue security cams caught her sneaking around Wolflegs' room," Heather continued.

"What the camera's didn't show is why Blaze went through the trouble," Astrid added, looking at the two people below.

Fishlegs looked thoughtful as he looked down at his friend, "Wonder how Hiccup plans to solve that mystery?"

"DUEL!"

All of them turned down to the action that was about to unfold between Hiccup and Blaze.

"Not surprising," Astrid shook her head.

Blaze: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

"Time to duel!" said Hiccup as he and Blaze drew their initial hand.

"All right!" Blaze drew her card, "Get ready to fall in love!" She placed a card onto her disk, "I summon Maiden in Love!" Hiccup watched as a young girl with long brown hair and a flowing yellow dress came to the field. She had a dreamy expression on her face like she was in love. (ATK: 400/DEF: 300)

"She's cute!" Fishlegs exclaimed. Ragnar just stared at him.

"Ok… my turn…" Hiccup drew his card and looked at his hand, "I summon Dragon Knight Belch in attack mode!" The mysterious night appeared on the field between facing the maiden. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1000)

"And thanks to the ability I get Dragon Knight Barfinto my hand," said Hiccup researcher is deck for Barf. "Next have attacked your maiden."

"Oh, my poor helpless maiden…" Fishlegs mourned.

"Legs, focus," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, let the monsters do the fighting instead," Astrid agreed.

Then slammed his spear into the Maiden, who gasped in both surprise and pain before falling down to her knees in the dirt. Blaze was enduring the up draught from the blow.

Blaze: 3200

Hiccup: 4000

"You may have broken her heart, Hiccup, but she lives to love another day!" said Blaze. "You see, as long as she's in Attack Mode, her ability keeps her from being destroyed in battle!"

"There has to be another reason for that effect other than not being destroyed in battle," Heather mumbled in thought.

A soft hum caused Hiccup to turn to see one of his best friends, Toothless, next to him

"Hey bud, what's up?"

"You might wanna look, Hiccup." He pointed forward. Hiccup obliged and his eyes widened at the sight he was beholding:

Belch was kneeling in front of the Maiden.

"What's going on?" He freaked.

"Are… are you all right?" Blech asked the poor Maiden.

"Maybe, maybe not," she replied, looking away sheepishly.

Hiccup stepped back, "WHAT?!" He shrieked, surprised at what his monster was doing, "C'mon, Belch, pull yourself together! You're supposed to be in Attack Mode, not in love!"

"Looks like I've got some competition," Fishlegs murmured.

"Beg pardon?" Ragnar stared.

"My monster is head over heels, could it get any worse?" Hiccup asked, staring at the field.

Blaze hummed playfully, "Actually, it could…" she said, "You see, my Maiden has another effect. Whichever monster attacks her, gets a Maiden Counter!" She explained as her Maiden blew a kiss towards Belch, who blushed as a small pink heart appeared on his chest.

"I knew there was more to that card," Heather noted.

"Whatever that counter is it can't be good," said Astrid.

"What's a Maiden Counter?" Hiccup inquired.

She wagged a finger, "You'll find out…" she replied in the same voice, "But moving on now," She drew her next card and looked at her hand, then inserted a card into the slot beneath her monster, "I play the Equip card Cupid's Kiss to my Maiden!"

Both players and their audience watched as a small cherub with a bow flew into view and kissed the Maiden on the cheek.

"Now…" She pointed to Belch, "I'll have her attack!"

The Maiden ran out to the other side of the field like a slow-motion love scene, "Oh Mister Belch, come out come out wherever you are! I wanna give you a hug," she called out.

Belch, surprised by what she was doing, stepped aside and watched as the Maiden fell to the ground. She slowly sat up and looked at him sadly, "Why did you do that?" she took her face into her hands and began to cry, "You're so mean!"

"I'm sorry…" Belch knelt down, "I didn't mean it."

The Maiden smiled and blew a kiss at him, "Okay," With Belch's help, she climbed to her feet, "Now, will you do me a little favour?" she asked sweetly.

"Anything,"

"Good, see him?" she pointed to Hiccup, "Take him down!"

"Done!" Belch leapt into the air and flung his spear at Hiccup.

Hiccup was not of his feet, "Belch! Snap out of it!" he yelled, "Can't you see she's totally just using you?!"

"She can use me any time!" Fishlegs said.

Ragnar and Heather exchanged looks of great concern.

Blaze giggled as Belch came to her area, alongside the Maiden, "Sorry Hiccup, but when my Maiden takes damage from a monster that has a Maiden Counter, the Equip Spell Cupid's Kiss activates! That allows me to take control of one your monster, and sure, it costs me some Life Points, but it's about to cost you a lot more!"

Blaze: 2400

Hiccup: 2800

She looked through her hand and picked a card from it, "Well, since I've taken control of your only monster, I'll place this card facedown and end my turn," she said, inserting the card into her disk slot.

"Man… Belch fallen in love and I'm falling behind!" Hiccup drew his next card and looked at it.

' _Hookfang…_ ' He looked back at the field, ' _But if I attack, he'll fall for Maiden just like Belch did! Still, I gotta do something…_ '

"I summon the Dragon Knight Hookfang in Attack Mode!" Hiccup declared, slapping the monster card onto the disk. Hookfang showed up in a burst of flames. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000) "I hate to do it, Belxh, but you're either with me or against. Hookfang, attack Belch with Blazing Mace!" He ordered. "Oh, and when he attacked the monster he gains 400 extra attack points."

Flames appeared around Hookfang as he swung his mace towards Belch. (ATK: 1600-2000)

Blaze pressed a button on her disk, "I don't think so! I play the Trap card Defence Maiden!"

To Hiccup's and Belch's surprise, the Maiden in Love stepped in just as the blast came and took the full hit, enduring a best she could.

"See? It redirects Hookfang's attack from Belch to my Maiden, so that she gets hit instead of Belxh," Blaze explained as her points went down, "And you know what that means…"

Blaze: 800

Hiccup: 2800

The Maiden fell to her knees after taking the hit, crying. Belxh knelt down beside her again, glaring at his fellow knight, "Hookfang, I didn't even think you would dare attack a defenceless Maiden? That a new low even for you!" he scolded.

Hookfang clutched his helmet, apparently distraught at what he had done to the girl and started crying a bit, "You're right, I'm so sorry!" He apologized to the Maiden, "Please, forgive me! I'll do anything, anything!"

"Anything?" the Maiden looked at him, "Well, I can't think of anything right now, but I'm sure something will come to mind later," She said, winking at him.

Hookfang felt overjoyed, "Just simply say the word, babe!" He declared, as a small pink heart appearing on his chest.

While Hiccup groaned, Blaze smiled. "And she will now that Sparkman has a Maiden Counter…"

Fishlegs smiled and looked down at the Maiden, "I want one! How do I get a Maiden Counter?"

"Uh… Legs, you do realize that she's just a card, right?" Asked asked them slowly.

Wolflegs chuckled, "Try and remember who you're talking to," he murmured, "When we were growing up, Fishlegs kept saying he was going steady with the Dark Magician Girl."

Fishlegs felt embarrassed at that comment.

"Is that so?" Asked got a grin on her face. "She break your heart, Legs?" Asked asked teasingly, "Or did you decide to see other monsters?"

"Well, that certainly explains a lot," said Ragnar.

"You mean how he meets goo goo eyes at Hiccup's Stormfly?" Heather asked.

"Yeah," Ragnar nodded.

"I guess the only thing I can do now is play one card facedown," said Hiccup.

"All right, here I go!" Blaze drew her card, "I activate the Equip Spell card, Happy Marriage! Now my Maiden gains as many Attack Points as Belch has… that is, if Avian says 'I do' of course!"

The Maiden changed her wardrobe from her yellow dress to that of a white wedding dress with flowers on it. She took hold of Belch's arm and looked up at him.

"It would be my pleasure," Belch swore as he took her arm into his. The Maiden gained her points from the spell card. (ATK: 400-1600)

"And next I equip Hookfang with Mist Body and thanks to this card Hookfang can no longer be destroyed in battle," said Blaze as it's surrounded Hookfang.

"Now, let's have Maiden pay a visit to him!" The Maiden ran to Hookfang, who dodged her move, causing her to trip.

"Hookfang, how could you do that? You said you would do anything for me!" she whimpered, sobbing into her hands.

Hookfang immediately went to her aid, "You right, I'm sorry! Command me!"

"All right, that's better!"

"What is your wish?" Hookfang asked, rising to his feet.

"I wish…" she pointed to Hiccup, "That you'd beat up that mean boy over there!"

"With pleasure!" Hookfang turned to Hiccup and raised his fiery mace.

"This isn't good, if she succeeds attacking with both Hookfang and Belch Hiccup will lose," said Ragnar.

"I activate my facedown card, Shrink!" Hiccup yelled as he revealed his spell card. "Thanks to this because the original attack point of Hookfang in half."

The flames on Hookfang's face shrank, but it installed him from being hit in the chest.

"Well don't just stand there, Hubby?" the Maiden glanced at Belch.

"Of course not, my dear!" Belch swung his spear combined with the flames of the mace, causing more damage to Hiccup.

"And now I play Dian Keto the Cure Master which increases my life points by 1000," said Blaze as she felt the warm light covering her body. She then looked at Hiccup. "You may have saved yourself…" said Blaze as she took off her hat and untied her bandanna, letting her long hair fall. She sighed happily, "but you can't beat me, Hiccup. I'm duelling for love!"

Blaze: 1800

Hiccup: 800

"Duelling for love?" Wolflegs frowned, "Doesn't she mean duelling with love?"

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Oh c'mon, you mean you haven't figured it out yet? Think about it Wolf," she held up some fingers, "She puts on a disguise, tricks her way into our school, and breaks into your room?"

Fishlegs' face turned into that of surprise as it came together, "She's in love!"

"Big time," Astrid turned back to the duel, "And she's in love with you, Wolf."

Toothless laughed at the scene. "Hiccup…"

"Yeah, I know, bud; putting two guys against a girl was stupid, but hey, nothing can be done about it now," he shrugged as he drew. He looked at his card, then his hand, "Of course! It's so obvious! If I'm gonna take on that Maiden in Love, I'm gonna need a woman's touch and I have just the one." He then activated the card he just drew. "First I activate the spell card Costs Down. Now my discarding one card for my hand I can love the levels of all monsters in my hand by two and that means I can summon this girl as as a level 4 monster. So come on out Dragon Knight Stormfly!"

Hookfang and Stormfly both seemed to panic as the blonde knight came to Hiccup's side of the field, not looking very happy. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1900)

"Now set those saps straight, Stormfly!" Hiccup yelled.

"Stormfly!" Belch and Hookfang cried in panic.

"Uh… I know this looks bad…" Hookfang started.

"Save it! You two are pathetic," Stormfly interrupted, "But your honeymoon is just about over!"

Both knights stepped back as Stormfly, gave them the scariest death glare in known history, hugging onto one another in fear.

"We're in for it now…" Belch whimpered.

"Remind me not to get on that girl's bad side," said Heather.

"I kind of like her," said Astrid.

"Why doesn't that surprise me," said Ragnar.

Hiccup smiled. "You go, Stormfly!" he took a card from his hand, "Now let's teach these guys a lesson. I play Monster Reborn and I bring back the card I just discarded so come on out Toothless!"

Then they heard a whooshing sound and Toothless appeared alongside Stormfly.

"Figures those two would fall head over heels," he said.

"You better hope that I don't find you falling head over heels," said Stormfly threateningly.

"I prefer to see my next birthday," said Toothless.

"Good choice," said Stromfly. "Now how will we show these muttonheads what happens when they fall for pathetic act like that."

Belch and Hookfang gulped.

"Now what I show you the perfect couple and with this card I can surely do that," said Hiccup revealing the spell card with the image of Toothless and Stormfly kissing by a lake under a full moon. "I activate the Spell Card Romantic Night! You see I can only activate this card when both Toothless and Stormfly are on the field and was activated in the gate all effects on my opponents out of the field."

As he placed the card into his slot, Toothless and Stormfly approached one another and everyone stared as they kissed. The moment their lips touched a powerful pulse was sent across the field and at once Maiden began to loosen points. (ATK: 1600-400)

"Ah, isn't that romantic," said Heather.

"Got it, I didn't see that one coming," said Ragnar.

"Looks like Hiccup is fighting fire with fire or in this case love with love," said Astrid smiling.

"Now Stormfly you know what to do," said Hiccup. He then looked at Belch and Hookfang. "Trust me you guys will thank me later."

"You care to do the honours milady," said Toothless gesturing to a fearful Belch and Hookfang.

"I thought you would never ask," said Stormfly.

Belch and Hookfang gulped as Stormfly approached them tapping her axe with the palm of her hand and cracking her neck.

"Now Stormfly, let's not do anything hasty," said Belch holding his hands up in defence.

"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement," said Hoofkang quivering.

"You'll be lucky I don't tell the entire deck!" Stormfly snapped.

From the cliff above everyone turned their eyes as Stormfly charge that Blaze's monsters with fire in her eyes. When he looks back down they found Blaze's field completely empty and Blaze herself fall to her knees.

Blaze: 0

Hiccup: 800 (Winner)

"Well, that's that," said Hiccup turned off his disk.

Blaze sighed and looked at him, "All right, guess I have to tell you my secret then…"

Hiccup shook his head, "Nah, I already learned a lot during the duel," he smiled, looking past her, "And I think our spectators learned something as well."

Feeling very nervous, Blaze slowly turned her head around to see Wolflegs and the others standing a short ways behind her.

Astrid smiled, "Sure did. Love is on her mind Wolf…"

Blaze got to her feet quickly, "Wolflegs, you're here!" She blushed a little, "I guess you know… I'm the one who snuck into your dorm room," she lowered her head embarrassed, "I've been in love with you ever since I first met you."

Wolflegs nodded at Blaze, "At the Nationals…" he remembered.

"That's right!" Blaze lifted her head, "It was right after you won the Championship match, and right then, I made a pledge that I would do anything to be with you!"

"I remember you said that if I trained really, really hard, I can get into Duel Academy like you, and I did!" Blaze smiled widely and held out her arms, "Now that I'm here, we can get married!"

Everyone looked a bit weirded out.

Astrid smiled slightly at her, "Blaze, sweetie, love doesn't work like that. You can't sneak your way into someone's heart," she nodded to her deck, "Just look what happened to your Maiden. She used tricks to get love and she ended up alone and in tears. You can't use spells and disguises to find your soulmate, Blaze. Hiccup show you what love was with Toothless and Stormfly. They were completely honest with each other right from the start. You have to be just that honest and upfront with them." She turned to spare a look at Hiccup suddenly and blushed slightly.

"Yeah right! You just want Wolflegs for yourself!" Blaze snapped and gave her the evil eye, "You're trying to get rid of me!"

Heather giggled because that couldn't have been any further from the truth.

Astrid smiled nervously and backed away, "Wolf, a little help please?"

The Obelisk stepped forward, "Blaze, as flattered as I am by your affections, right now I'm in love with only one thing: duelling."

"Duelling?" Blaze asked as Wolflegs took something out of his pocket.

He took her hand and placed the barrette she had lost in his room into her open palm, "I'm sorry, but it's time for you to go home."

Hiccup stepped between them as tears came to Blaze's eyes, "Hold on, why does she have to go home? She's a student here at Duel Academy and a good one!"

Wolflegs smirked, "Actually Hiccup, she has to go home because she's in second grade."

"Say… what?" Hiccup slowly turned and stared at Blaze.

"It's true." Wolflegs nodded.

"Hah, that actually explains a lot," said Ragnar.

Hiccup held his head, "Are you saying I almost lost to an eight-year old?!"

Blaze stuck out her tongue and smiled, "Eight and a half, if that makes you feel better!""

Hiccup fell to the ground, laughing hysterically. "That's why dueling so great! If you're old enough to draw, you're old enough to win!"

* * *

The next day, they all stood at the docks, watching Blaze get on board and to wish her a safe trip back home.

"Goodbye, you guys!" she called out, waving to them, "I'll be back just as soon as I finish grade school, and middle school too, but I'll be back!"

Hiccup laughed and looked over his shoulder, "Ya hear that, Wolf?"

"Please," Wolflegs scoffed, "By the time that happens, I'll be long gone…"

"Well, that's true," Hiccup turned back to see the boat move offshore, "I guess Blaze's crush ends here, huh?"

Wolflegs chuckled, "Don't be so sure…"

"Goodbye Hiccup, my sweet prince! I love you!" Blaze yelled from the boat.

Hiccup just stared horrified and turned Astrid, who was giggling. "She's supposed to like Wolflegs!"

"She does like Wolflegs, but apparently she loves you…" she said with Heather and Ragnar sniggering behind her.

Wolflegs chuckled and walked away, "Good luck."

"You'll needed it," said Ragnar.

Hiccup just horrified at the boat as the other slowly left.

"Hey, Rag, wanna go to the store and get some new cards?" he asked innocently.

"I think I know which card you've got in mind…" Ragnar muttered.

Astrid rolled her eyes as she and Heather followed after the boys leaving Hiccup by himself, "Do me a favour Legs, and stay away from the girls in my deck."

Hiccup just stared at the ship disappearing in the distance as Blaze continue to wave back. "I'll see you soon, write to me every day! I love you, Hiccup, sweetie!"

Hiccup just rubbed his forehead. "I wish they had cards to counter this, he murmured.

* * *

Romantic Night

Spell Card

You can only activate this card if Dragon Knight Toothless and Stormfly you are on the field. Once activated all card effects on the opposing side of the field are negated and for the rest of the turn they cannot activate any facedown cards in the Spell and Trap Card Zone.

Card image: Dragon Knight Toothless kissing Dragon Knight Stormfly at night, under a full moon and by a lake.


	21. The Duel Off Part 1

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Spitelout slammed his hands down on the oval table where he, Gobber, Chancellor Stoick, and other major faculty members were having meeting. Along with them was Wolflegs, who stood with his arms crossed.

"The School Duel between Duel Academy and North Academy is the biggest match of the year!" Spitelout yelled, "We can take no chances, so it's clear that Wolflegs should be our rep!" He pointed to Wolflegs.

Stoick nodded, "Wolflegs is our best student, but he's a third year student and I've received word that North Academy will be using a first-year student."

"Why would they do that?" Spitelout demanded.

The Headmaster shrugged, "Who knows, but in the spirit of competition I think we should use a first-year student as well," He turned to the upperclassman, "You understand, don't you, Wolf?"

Wolflegs nodded, "Of course, Chancellor."

Stoick turned back to his fellow faculty members, "Now then, the only question is who this first-year should be…?"

Before anyone could say anything, Wolflegs folded his arms, closed his eyes and replied with, "There's your son."

That thought made Stoick look at him, intrigued by the thought of the Slifers, while it made Spitelout cringe at the idea.

"The boy is only talented there's no denying that," said Gobber.

Banner nodded as he petted Pharaoh, "I agree, Hiccup is our best new student." He looked down at his cat. "Don't you agree?"

Pharaoh only mewled in response.

Spitelout rolled his eyes and threw his arms up, "Oh, well if the cat says so…"

"Chancellor," Wolflegs turned to the large headmaster, "I know selecting him would show favouritism to the other students, but he'll make Duel Academy proud, trust me…"

Stoick looked at him for a few moments, and then nodded; "All right then, it's decided… unless someone has any other suggestions?" He looked at his colleagues.

Spitelout grit his teeth at the thought of Hiccup representing them in the School Duel, 'Hiccup Haddock… that Slifer Slacker! Every time he does well, he make me look bad! There has to be someone else…'

At that moment, a smile spread across his face, "Wait! Of course, Speedfist Boilson." He cried, "He should represent us!"

"Speedfist?" The chancellor asked intrigued.

"Oh yes!" Spitelout nodded, "He's far more qualified. He's scored the best on the written exam of all new applicants and even defeated my son before he left. His duelling and grades are remarkable," He approached Stoick and leaned forward, "It should be him!"

Stoick sighed before he said. "Well, how about a Duel-off then?"

Wolflegs nodded.

* * *

"For real?"

Gobber smiled and nodded as he heard Hiccup's reply to the news he had told his class, "Yes Hiccup and Speedfist will be duelling in a duel off to see who will be representing us in the School Duel against North Academy."

Hiccup turned and looked up at Speedfist, who was smiling down at him from an upper row.

"I look forward to an exciting match," said Gobber.

* * *

Once class was finished Ragnar and Fishlegs approached Hiccup excitedly.

"All right, Hiccup, you might actually be in the School Duel," said Fishlegs.

"This has to be the first," said Ragnar. "A Slifer taking part in such an important duel. You're about to make history."

"That if I beat Speedfist," Hiccup reminded and looked up at Speedfist. "Well, Speedfist, I guess made the best man win, huh."

"Best deck," Speedfist corrected. "And I assure you, Hiccup, that deck will be mine. You see I've been formulating a new set of cards to defeat you and your monsters ever since my duel with Snotlout."

"You said you would…" Hiccup got to his feet, smiling, "So are ya finished?"

Speedfist shook his head, "No, but it will be soon, definitely before tomorrow." He turned to his opponents. "I hope to have a great match against you. See you at the arena tomorrow." He said before turning and walking away.

Hiccup smiled before giving a nod to Speefist, silently saying that they hope for a fun time. As Speedfist walked off, Fishlegs and Ragnar approached him.

"Speedfist's made a whole deck just to duel you with?" Fishlegs asked, making sure he heard that right.

"I dunno whether you should be really honoured or really scared," Ragnar added.

"I suggest a mixture of both," said a voice.

They turned and found Astrid, who had been the one that had spoken, and Heather approaching them.

"I suppose it's best to be a little cautious than having your face down in the dirt," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, especially since he mop the floor with Snotlout," said Heather.

"I guess the only way gonna find out is when we duel," said Hiccup.

"You do have a slight advantage of Speedfist not knowing every card in your deck," said Ragnar.

"True, but he knows the card you most use," said Astrid. "I'd advice caution you saw how he outsmarted Snotlout."

"Snotlout is easy to outsmart," said Ragnar. "Don't forget I technically defeated him."

"No, Astrid's right," said Hiccup. "I have a feeling that this is clearly my toughest match yet and that counting the duel I have with Gustav when he used Yugi's deck."

"How is this gonna be tougher?" Fishlegs asked.

"Because Speedfist is using his own cards in his own strategies at least with Gustav Hiccup knew what he was up against," said Heather.

"You best prepare," said Ragnar placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"I was sorting through my deck first thing tonight," said Hiccup.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup was in his dorm room looking for is cards figuring out the best way to take on Speedfist. The only problem was he wasn't sure which cards Speedfist would use, he had only seen him duel once and that was only one of his six decks.

"Speedfist uses science and formulas when duelling," said Hiccup rubbing his chin. "So I can expect cards that work well together."

Ragnar and Fishlegs watched as Hiccup sorted through is cards.

"He's been like that for hours," said Fishlegs.

"I suppose he wants to prove that formulas and calculations can't predict everything," said Ragnar.

"You think?"

Ragnar looked at Fishlegs. "There are some things that science can't explain for example the luck of the draw. We much doubt that Speedfist could predict Dawnfang's drawing skills and his predictions."

"He did get one wrong," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Which is exactly my point," said Ragnar. "You can't predict anything, not truly. Hiccup knows this which is why he put so much faith in his deck."

Fishlegs just stared at him blankly trying to figure out what he meant.

Ragnar then approached Hiccup. "You really should get some sleep," he suggested.

"I know, but I can't help but worry about tomorrow," said Hiccup not looking away from his cards. "Speedfist isn't going to take any chances and neither can I."

"Well, I suggest you take some fresh air and relax," said Ragnar. "Your can do fine."

Hiccup nodded and put his cards back together in places deck and his slot. "You know what, I think you're right could do with some fresh air."

They then watched as Hiccup exited the dorm room.

"You think is gonna be okay?" Fishlegs asked.

"I'm confident he will be," said Ragnar.

* * *

Hiccup was wandering through the forest and he didn't realise that he was heading the direction of the Abandoned Dorm, until we saw Astrid with a rose.

"Oh, hey Astrid," said Hiccup.

Astrid looked up and was surprised to see him. "Hiccup? What are you doing here?"

"I went for a walk and I guess I just didn't realise where I was heading," said Hiccup rubbing the back of his head.

Astrid laughed. "Thinking about tomorrow are we?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I would be worrying myself sick I would in I would win," said Astrid proudly.

Hiccup shook his head and then looked at the rose in her hand. "Still haven't found anything about your brother?"

Astrid sighed. "No, psyche disappeared off the face of the earth."

"I'm sure he's okay," Hiccup assured.

"I wish I was so certain," said Astrid looking at her rose.

Then without thinking Hiccup placed his hand over hers. "You can't give up hoping. I'm sure one day you'll find out what happened, because I'm sure I'm gonna find out what happened to my mother."

Hiccup then looked down and realised he was still holding Astrid's hand and quickly pulled away from her. The two of them blushed furiously and looked at one another awkwardly.

"What exactly happened to her?" Astrid asked trying to escape this awkwardness.

"I'm not sure," said Hiccup. "There was no sign of a struggle at first the police thought she just left home. They asked me questions, but when I left to hang out with Ragnar she looked perfectly fine. Busy designing her new cards and then when I return she was just gone as was all the work."

"But she was working on the Dragon Knights was and she?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup nodded. "She was and as far as I can tell they were never put into production. So you can imagine my surprise when one day I got a delivery of a deck of cards that she created."

"And no one knows where the package came from?"

"I asked the post office, but there wasn't return address," said Hiccup. He then looked at his watch and realised it was getting late. "I should probably head back to the dorm I'm gonna need my sleep for tomorrow."

"Good luck I'll be rooting for you," said Astrid as Hiccup headed back to his dorm.

Astrid looked at her hand where Hiccup had touched her. His touch felt so warm and reassuring, Hiccup was the only person that she felt a deep connection with. He didn't flirt with her constantly like Snotlout did and he certainly wasn't as annoying as Harold had been. She then shook ahead ferociously getting the thoughts out of her head.

"Come on Astrid you're not just some cheery little schoolgirl, you're a tough and skilled duellist," she said to herself. However she couldn't stop herself from looking at the direction Hiccup went.

* * *

Meanwhile Speedfist was in his dorm room, sitting at his computer. He had been doing research on Hiccup's deck, and he was still trying to figure out how to successfully defeat him.

He typed away on his keyboard, "Countless equations, a myriad of theorems, yet still…" He rubbed his chin, eyes never leaving the screen, "I have yet to solve the problem that is Hiccup's decks…"

Speedfist clicked the mouse a few times until a familiar set of monsters came to the screen, "The Dragon Kinghts. Very interesting specimen. Able to become dragons were on the field or in the graveyard." He then pulled up an image of Toothless. "Toothless, based at able to be summoned by using one less sacrifice if the opponent has a monster on their field and whenever he destroys a monster that monsters attack pointed out to its own as damage." He then pulled out an image of Stormfly. "Stormfly, a most troubling and beautiful foe, she is able to annihilate the opposing player's field."

He clicked the mouse again and another recognizable set of images came to the screen, "Even if I do stop them, he still uses fusion monsters, but not that very often so I would be a fool if I focused my deck on that. Still I haven't seen the entirety of his deck, but it is clear that his most powerful monsters are indeed the most dangerous."

He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head and eyes focused on the computer ahead of him.

' _Think Speedfist, think_!' He racked his brain. "I could assemble a deck to handle each one of those monsters, but that would leave far too much to chance. There must be a simple way to neutralize the threat… some strategy to stop those monsters…"

That's when it hit him…

"Wait a moment, that's it!" He reached over and let his fingers fly across the keyboard, "It's so obvious! Hiccup Haddock… the code to your cards… has just been cracked!" He smirked.

* * *

The next morning, everyone sat down in the appointed arena, eager to watch the Duel-Off to see who would represent their academy in the upcoming School Duel. Ragnar and Fishlegs were sitting in the bleachers, waiting to see the battle that was about to unfold.

Spitelout looked at the audience and raised his hands dramatically, "It's time, duellists! To find out who will be representing our most illustrious academy in the annual School Duel!"

Cheers erupted all around the arena as Spitelout nodded, taking in the applause before waving to one end of the platform. "Introducing first from the Ra Dorm Speedfist Boilson!"

Cheers came as fellow Ras and friends of Speedfist clapped for the genius as he took his spot.

"And next…" Spitelout waved to the side. "From Slifer… some kid," Spitelout continued, less enthusiastic this time as Hiccup walked up.

"Here go," said Hiccup looking at Speedfist. "Good luck, pal."

"I appreciate the sentiment," said Speedfist. "But with the deck I prepared I don't need luck."

"We'll see about that," said Hiccup raising his Duel Disk.

"Go Hiccup!" Fishlegs called from his seat in the stands, "This is what you trained for!"

"He'll be fine…" Ragnar assured with a smile. "He's tough!"

Above the seats, at the railing surrounding the stands, Wolflegs walked over to Astrid and Heather, who were both standing side by side, eyes focused on the two duellists.

"It will be instinctive versus intelligence here," said Wolflegs.

"I guess, but Hiccup is a lot smarter than he looks," said Astrid.

"True, but unlike Speedfist uses pure instinct when he's duelling," said Heather.

"Guess where about to find out which is stronger," said Astrid.

"Without further adieu!" Spitelout yelled.

"Let's duel," they said.

Hiccup: 4000

Speedfist: 4000

"All right, first move!" Speedfist drew, "I summon Carboneddon in defense mode!" He declared as he placed a card sideways on his disk. A grey, metallic dinosaur appear on his field kneeling and crossing it's arms for the guard. (ATK: 900/DEF: 600) "That'll do for now."

' _Carboneddon_?' Hiccup asked himself. ' _All that talk of building an entire deck to take me down and this is all he uses?_ ' He didn't buy it.

"Not the best start…" he mumbled. "Speedfist has to be up to something."

Hiccup drew his card. "First things first, I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang."

Speedfist watched as the muscular knight appeared on Hiccup's field. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 800) ' _Hmm… only one turn and he already drew a difficult monster content with_.'

"Off to a good start there!" He called out.

"Yeah, sure am," said Hiccup. "And I got news for you it's only going to get better. Hookfang attack!"

Hookfang then slammed his mates into Carboneddon destroying him.

"I'll end my turn with a face down." Hiccup finished as he inserted a card into an empty slot.

Speedfist nodded, "You don't waste any time, Hiccup, I like that," He drew his next card and looked at it. ' _Here it is! The one card that will win me this duel! But first…_ ' "I'll summon Oxygeddon in attack mode!" He declared, slapping the card onto his disk. The green pterodactyl made of Oxygen screeched as it appeared on the field, stretching out its wings. (ATK: 1800/DEF: 800) "Now, Oxygeddon, attack Hookfang!" He ordered.

"I don't think so, I've got a trap card Dragon Defender!" Hiccup announced revealing his facedown card. "Thanks to this card all Dragon types monsters on my so the bill can't be destroyed in battle. Unfortunately I still take damage from your attack."

Oxygeddon's attack hit Hookfang dead on, but he was able to hold his ground. Hiccup placed himself as the attack hit him.

Hiccup: 3800

Speedfist: 4000

"Well played, Hiccup," Speedfist praised, "Of course I would expect no less." He looked at the card he had drawn earlier, ' _Of course when I use this card, it won't matter how well you play_.' He thought before he tuned back into the duel. "I'll go and place this card facedown," he inserted the card into a spare slot, "And I'll end my turn."

"Ah, man," said Fishlegs. "Hiccup has already taken damage."

"Don't worry about it, Legs," said Ragnar. "Hiccup will be to make comeback next turn, after all he may have your life points but thanks to that move he's going to have more monsters."

"Okay, my turn," said Hiccup as he drew. "And I summon Dragon Knight Fanghook!"

The young knight appeared on his field and looked at Hiccup eagerly. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800)

"And now I'm going to have Hookfang attack Oxygeddon entities bowing against the monster he gained additional 400 attack points," said Hiccup as flames shot around Hookfang.

Hookfang then slammed his mace against Oxygeddon and destroyed him completely.

Hiccup: 3800

Speedfist: 3800

"Now I'm going to have Fanghook go for direct attack!" Hiccup announced.

Fanghook then ran up to Speefist eagerly and slammed him with his mace.

Hiccup: 3800

Speedfist: 2200

In the stands, Stoick turned to Gobber, who was sitting a row or two behind him. "That's my boy, he's quite the duelist."

Gobber nodded. "Aye, we teach our Slifers well…" he chuckled, "When they don't ditch class… even though Hiccup is one of the only Slifers that actually comes to class."

Unfortunately, Spitelout wasn't enjoying the duel as much as the others. He was panicking because of the way it had gone so far.

' _Why did I open my big mouth and nominate Speedfist for this match?! He's getting creamed, I'm getting humiliated, and worst of all…_ ' He pulled his hair hard, ' _Hiccup's looking better than ever!_ '

"Looks like it's back to the drawing board with you Speedfist if you want to beat my deck," said Hiccup.

Speedfist smiled. "No, Hiccup, I think not. You see, I've already beaten your deck, it's just a matter of showing all of my work," He then added in his mind. 'And the matter of allowing Hiccup to play a card that will enact my master plan to bring down his deck…'

"Now, let's get back into the fray, shall we? It's my turn," Speedfist drew his card, "I'm summoning Hydrogeddon in attack mode!" He paused as a large monster composed of muddy water came to his aide. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000) "Hydrogeddon, attack Fanghook!"

Hiccup watched as a stream of water erupted from the Hydrogeddon's jaws and rammed itself into Hookfang, blowing the young knight to pieces.

Hiccup: 3600

Speedfist: 2200

"Next, I'll activate Hydrogeddon's ability," Speedfist continued, "Whenever he destroys a monster in battle, it allows me to summon another Hydrogeddon," he plucked a card from the pile of cards in his disk, "and look, I happen to have one here in my deck!"

Hiccup groaned, he had a feeling he knew what was coming next.

Speedfist took another card from his hand, surprising the crowd. "Next, I play the Equip Spell card, Living Fossil! I can now summon a monster from my Graveyard as long as I equip it with this. So the monster I'll bring back is…" He reached down to his slot as a card popped out. "Oxygeddon, rise again, old friend!" He called as he slapped the monster card onto the field again. (ATK: 1800-800/DEF: 800) "Of course, his attack points are lowered and his ability is cancelled, but it's worth it!"

"Now it gets good," Once again, Speedfist took a card from his hand, "I play the Spell card, Bonding H2O! With this card Hiccup, as I'm sure you remember, when I bond two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon, they do the same thing that two hyrdogens and one oxygen molecules do… they become water! Or in this case," he paused as his three monsters swirled around and around until a huge serpent made from deep blue water appeared in front of him. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600) "The almighty Water Dragon!"

"That's not good," said Hiccup.

"Incredible," said Ragnar.

"That's one impressive monster," Stoick mused.

Gobber nodded, "Yes, and an impressive move, too," he looked at the duel, "It'll be tough…"

Now, Spitelout was enjoying the twist. He giggled from his place on the sidelines, "Finally, I knew it was a good idea for me to nominate Speedfist for this match. Speedfist's looking magnificent, I'm looking brilliant, and best of all, Hiccup looks like a complete fool!"

"And I believe you remember my Water Dragon a special ability, now all your Fire attribute and Pyro Type monsters now lose their attack points which means Hookfang is about to get drenched," said Speedfist.

Suddenly a huge wave emerged from Water Dragon and slammed into Hookfang and a large amount of steam was exiting from his body. (ATK: 1600-0)

"It's your move now, Hiccup," Speedfist nodded to his opponent, ' _And if you plan to take on my Water Dragon, there's only one move you can make, and it's the move I've been waiting for…_ '

"How's Hiccup going to take on that thing?" Fishlegs asked. "Hookfang has lost all of his attack points."

"It all comes down to this next move," said Hiccup.

"Well, Speedfist, it's likely always say when the going gets tough the tough get going. So here I go!" said Hiccup as he picked up his next card.

He looked at the card he just drew and saw it was Toothless and if you combine that with his Dragon Knight Axe he will be able to win the duel right away that is unless that face down card prevented him to do so, but it was a risk he was going to have to take.

"All right, you got your favourite monster out so allow me to summon mine," said Hiccup. "I now tribute Hookfang in order to summon Dragon Knight Toothless!"

"I don't think so Hiccup!" Hiccup stared in shock when Speedfist's facedown finally opened. "The Mask of Restrict! So long as this card remains on the field, neither of us can tribute monsters!"

"Wait!" Hiccup gasped. "I can't tribute any of my monsters anymore?"

"I'm afraid not," Speedfist folded his arms, "Which essentially means you can't summon any of your powerful monsters. No Toothless, no Stormfly, and none of the other ones you might have."

"No sacrifices?" Fishlegs gasped. "But summoning powerful monsters is how Hiccup always wins his duels."

"Compute it anyway you like, Hiccup, but the answer will still be the same… you can't win!" Speedfist chuckled as his Water Dragon loomed over Hiccup's and his failed attempt to power up summon Toothless. This would have to be his toughest duel of his life.


	22. The Duel Off Part 2

Hiccup lifted his hand. ' _Great, thanks to Mask of Restrict I can't tribute my monsters, but there again Speedfist is in the same predicament. Though without Water Dragon on the field he doesn't really need to summon any other powerful monsters._ '

"Okay, I summon Dragon Knight Meatlug in defence mode," said Hiccup. Then the husky female knight appeared on the field in a defence position. (ATK: 1300/ DEF: 2000). "And I'll switch Hookfang into defence mode and end my turn."

Speedfist stood confidently as the Slifer finished his turn, "Face it Hiccup, with your powerful monsters neutralized and my Water Dragon about to strike, you and your monsters are about to be all washed up."

"I can't watch…" Fishlegs groaned, afraid that his friend would actually lose this duel.

"It's not all bad. Hiccup still has more Life Points," Ragnar pointed out. "And knowing him who devise a way to work around that trap card."

From the stand Astrid looked extremely worried. ' _Come on, Hiccup_ ," she thought. "Fightback."

"Well, looks like we've underestimated Speedfist." Wolflegs smiled. "He's been playing this like a pro. After all, with just one card, he's all but disarmed Hiccup's deck."

"C'mon, he's just taken away the ability to use tribute is monsters! That's all," said Astrid.

Wolflegs eyed the blonde. "That might be enough…" he said. "He's won most of his duels by summoning Toothless or any other high-level monster."

"Still, I know Hiccup's not going down without a fight," Heather added. "And he hasn't fully depended upon sacrificing monsters."

"Definitely," said Astrid quickly nodded. "He'll find a way to win."

Meanwhile, further down, Spitelout was having the time of his life. He pounded the platform, smiling from ear to ear, "That's it, Speedfist! Show this Slifer Slacking Sludge who's boss!" he cheered, "Show him he doesn't belong in the School Duel!"

"My, little Hiccup is in trouble," said Gobber.

Speedfist smiled at his opponent. "Now let's get on with the duel!" he drew his card and looked at it, "I summon The Mathematician in attack mode!"

A short man in scholar robes, a pair of thick glasses, a long beard and a staff appeared alongside the huge Water Dragon. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 500)

"You see, when he's summoned to the field, I must take a card from my deck and send it to the Graveyard," Speedfist proved this by sending a card into the slot, "But if he's destroyed in battle, I can take a card from my deck and add it to my hand!" he glanced at his Graveyard, "Of course, none of that is very pressing at this moment. What, with my Water Dragon ready to surge into action!"

At those words, the watery serpent shot a long stream of water that crashed down upon Meatlug.

"Don't forget, Meatlug can't be destroyed in battle so long as they discard one card from my hand," said Hiccup is discarded Dragon Knight Axe.

"Well played, but Mathematician attacks your Hookfang!" Speedfist cried, "Number Cruncher!"

The monster in thick glasses raised its staff and sends a beam of numbers and variables at Speedfist, blowing him to pieces on contact.

"At least he managed to save Meatlug," said Ragnar.

"Yeah, but she can only hold out for only so long," said Fishlegs. "After all he has to keep on discarding cards if he wants to keep her around."

"Well, my turn's done, Hiccup," Speedfist declared after placing a card facedown, "So, if you still plan on beating me, feel free to go ahead and do your worst!"

"Be careful what you wish for you might just get it," said Hiccup.

"Oh really?" said Speedfist sceptically.

"You see while you plan things out at home I do mine on the field," said Hiccup.

"That's right," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, Hiccup plays with his gut and trusts his deck and that can make all the difference," said Ragnar.

"It's my turn now," said Hiccup. "Okay, first up I'm summoning Dragon Knight Scaldy in attack mode."

Then the aqua knight appeared on Hiccup field right next to Meatlug. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000. "Now I will equip him with Dragon Knight Crossbow which doubles as attack points." Scaldy grabbed the crossbow and aimed it straight at Speedfist. (ATK: 800-1600) "And now Scaldy attack the Mathematician."

Scaldy fired his crossbow and they arrow slammed straight into the Mathematician destroying him.

Hiccup: 3600

Speedfist: 2100

"Well played," said Speedfist. "But since you destroyed Mathematician his ability activates allowing me to draw one card."

"Not bad," said Hiccup. "But I know one trick pony. You may have prevented me from summing my most powerful monsters, but I find a way around it and I'll hit you were something else, because a good strategy doesn't rely on just one card."

"I'm sure," said Speedfist sceptically as he closed his eyes. "But the fact of the matter is Hiccup, is that your most powerful monsters are not. When will you accept that duelling is nothing more than a numbers game, a numbers game that I have calculated effectively and you have not? Your defeat is in imminent, Hiccup."

Speedfist then drew his card. "Now my draw and activate my facedown card Reckless Greed." Speedfist facedown revealed itself. "Thanks to this I get a draw to additional cards, but I'm forced to skip my neck to draw phases."

Speedfist then drew his two cards. "And I'll follow that up by playing Pot of Greed that allows me to draw two more cards."

Hiccup watched as Speedfist drew his two new cards. ' _Not bad, he managed to get around his trap cards downside and plus his hands now full._ '

Speedfist paused, as he placed his placing Pot of Greed into his Graveyard slot, "Furthermore, now there are ten cards in the Graveyard, lying on top of my Carboneddon, but he can handle the pressure… in fact, he thrives on it! Because of the gravitational force on Carboneddon, he changes into diamond, which allows me to use effect!"

Speedfist reached and took out the Carboneddon card and placed a new card onto the disk, "By removing this card from the Graveyard, I can now summon Hyozanryu, the Diamond Dragon!"

With an ear-splitting screech, a new dragon descended onto the field alongside Water Dragon. This new dragon had a beautiful hide of diamond scales, and a powerful set of claws, with an impressive set of wings. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 2800)

"Now, Water Dragon attack Scaldy! Tidal Blast!" Speedfist commanded.

Water Dragon fired a powerful gush of water that destroyed Scaldy.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Speedfist, but all battle damage I take with the monster equipped with Dragon Knight Crossbow is reduced to 0," said Hiccup.

"But now you're left with one less monster and I'm about to make it two," said Speedfist. He then looked at his diamond dragon. "Hyozanryu take Meatlug down with Diamond Devastator!"

Hyozanryu fired a stream of diamond dust and it slammed into Meatlug, but unlike last time Hiccup during use her special ability and she was destroyed.

"Your last line defences gone," said Speedfist, though it looked quite surprised that Hiccup did and activated Meatlug's ability.

"Why did you use Meatlug's special ability?" Fishlegs asked confused.

"I don't know, there's at least one card I know he can't use," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head. His eyes then widened. "Unless he's planning on using that?"

"Using what?" Fishlegs asked.

Ragnar shook his head. "No it can't be that. For starters that Mask Restrict is on the field and that prevents inform tributes eating monsters. Still, I wonder…"

Fishlegs just looked at him blankly.

"If you think I'm going to stop and give up you've got another thing coming," said Hiccup looking at Speedfist.

"My, you just won't give up will you, Hiccup? You are one stubborn duellist," said Speedfist.

"Yeah, mum said I got it for my dad," Hiccup shrugged.

"I'll end my turn with a facedown," said Speedfist as he placed a card in his card slot.

"Okay, my move," said Hiccup as he drew. "But I activate the effect of Dragon Knight Crossbow. You see by removing it from the game I get to summon a Dragon Knight monster for my graveyard so long as there's 1000 or less attack points. And a card I'm choosing is my old pal Scaldy in attack mode."

Then the aqua knight appeared on the field once again, but this time he was alone. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000)

"Oh, and since he is the only monster I have out I get a draw to extra cards." Hiccup then drew two cards from his deck and smiled. "And guess what I drew Pot of Greed so I get a draw to extra cards."

Hiccup drew his two extra cards and looked at his hand. "Okay, now I summon Dragon Knight Windshear in attack mode."

In the blackhead silvered knight appeared on the field with a blade is sharp as any steel. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1200)

"And I'll follow that up the spell card Dragon of the Wind," said Hiccup as he placed the spell card in his card slot. "Now since I have a Wind attribute Dragon on the field I get a switch one of your monsters from attacking to defending and I choose the Water Dragon."

Water Dragon then switched into a defensive position. Speedfist didn't like where this was going, because the new Hiccup had a reason for switching his monster to the defence mode since Hiccup's monsters were still too weak to destroy him.

"Ah, Hiccup what you doing?" Fishlegs moaned. "Windshear has nowhere near another attack points to destroy that Water Dragon."

"It will be what I use this spell card," said Hiccup he then placed a card in his Field Spell card zone. "I play the Field Spell Card Dragon Knight Arena."

Suddenly Hiccup and Speedfist found themselves into an arena.

"Hiccup's may no longer be sacrifice monsters, but he can still power them up," said Wolflegs looking slightly impressed.

"That little change of scenery has put Hiccup back in the game," said Astrid.

"Let's see what he does next," said Heather leaning forwards.

"Now when a monster with 'Dragon Knight' in its name attacks a monster with more attack points than your monster it gains 1000 additional attack points," said Hiccup.

Windshear raised her arm blades as she faced the Water Dragon. (ATK: 1900-2900)

"So, go Windshear attack Water Dragon with Steel Slice!" Hiccup commanded.

Windshear jumped into the air and charged straight towards Water Dragon and sliced right through him.

"Now, Windshear's ability activates," said Hiccup. "Whenever she attacks a monster defence mode and has more attack points than your monster defence points… well then the difference is dealt to you as damage."

Speedfist then got hit by the after-shock of the explosion.

Hiccup: 3600

Speedfist: 2100

Speedfist looked on through the cloud of smoke, "Well my dragon has a special ability too. For when you see, Hiccup, when Water Dragon is destroyed in battle, I can summon one Oxygeddon and two Hydrogeddon's from my Graveyard!" he paused as the three dinos came back to his field in defence mode, (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000)×2 (ATK: 1800/DEF: 800) "Next, I activate a Trap card called Last Magnet!"

A huge round magnet dropped from the sky and landed hard on Windshear's shoulders, the blackhead knight failed to unease due to the weight. (ATK: 1900-1100)

"This activates whenever one of my monsters is destroyed," Speedfsit explained, "Next, it attaches to the monster responsible for destroying my monster and then it lowers that monsters attack points by 800!"

Hiccup growled a little bit, but recovered. "Yeah well, Scaldy can make a comeback. Especially since he's in this special arena. I'll have him attack Oxygeddon with Scald Water Blast!"

Scaldy took up a fighting stance. (ATK: 800-1800). He then blasted Oxygeddon with a jet of hot boiling water that destroyed him instantly.

"Wow, this is one very close duel," said Ragnar.

"And it's not slowing down," said Fishlegs.

"Good show, Hiccup," said Speedfist.

"It's not like gonna make it easy for you," said Hiccup.

"It's my turn," said Speedfist, but he was unable to draw due to Reckless Greed, but since he had a full hand of cards didn't really matter. "I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon and I'll use it to destroy Mask of Restrict."

The powerful gust of wind destroyed his mask confusing many people.

"Why did he destroy that card?" Fishlegs asked puzzled.

"Because he's planning on doing a sacrifice," said Ragnar.

"And then from my hand, I play the Spell card, Litmus Doom Ritual! Now, by sacrificing cards from my hand and field with up to 8 stars, I can summon Lithmus Doom Swordsman!"

A sparking monument rose from the earth, followed by his two Hydrogeddons being wiped away from the field. In their place, an impressive warrior in a tunic and red cape, carrying two swords in his hands appeared. (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)

"Doom Swordsman isn't affected by Traps, and he can't be destroyed in battle," Speedfist smiled, "Essentially, he's invincible! Also, if there happens to be a Trap card on the field, like Last Magnet, my Doom Swordman's attack and defence points become 3000!" A red aura seeped from the magnet Windshear was holding and flowed into the swordsman. (ATK: 0-3000/ DEF:0-3000)

"Now, Litmus Doom Swordsman, give Windshear a taste of your steel!" Speedfist commanded.

His Ritual monster let out a battle cry, then leapt over to Bob, and with a few quick swipes, it destroyed the female knight with ease.

Hiccup: 1700

Speedfist: 2100

Of course with the destruction of his Trap Card Doom Swordsman lost his attack points. (ATK: 0-3000/ DEF: 0-3000)

"Well done, now Hyozanryu, make me proud and attack Scaldy! Diamond Devastator!"

Hyozanryu fired off another stream of diamonds and hit Scaldy fast and hard. The aqua knight groaned as the diamonds tore through him. Within seconds, Scaldy exploded into a fiery cloud.

Hiccup: 400

Speedfist: 2100

"There's more," Speedfist inserted another card, "Next I play from my hand the mighty spell card a Wingbeat of Giant Dragon. Now my returning one level 5 or above Dragon-Type monster on my field back to my hand all Spell and Trap Cards are destroyed. Which means your Arena is about to get demolished."

Hiccup watched as Hyozanryu disappeared in a bright light and appeared in Speedfist's hand. Next second his Field Spell began to fade away."

"Finally, I'll end with a facedown," said Speedfist as a card appeared in front of him.

"Ah, man, this is bad. Hiccup's losses monsters and his Field Spell Card, he's defenceless out there," Fishlegs moaned.

Hiccup however did not lose his confidence. "Well, I'll tell you Speedfist I don't think I've ever had a more fun duel."

"I've enjoyed it as well, Hiccup, and will continue to…" said Speedfist. "Especially when I beat you."

"We'll see about that, here I go," said Hiccup as he drew. Hiccup looked at it card and smiled. "I'm going to activate Dragon Knight Charity. Since I have more than five Dragon Knights in my graveyard I could draw three extra cards for my deck, but if I don't use them I take 500 point of damage."

"So you're betting everything on this one draw," said Speedfist.

"One draw can change everything," said Hiccup.

Everyone watched breathlessly as Hiccup drew his three cards. Hiccup looked at them and then looked back at Speedfist.

"Speedfist, you played a good duel, but now the duel ends," said Hiccup. Speedfist looked at him in puzzlement. He then showed Speedfist with the image of a man holding a sword while lightening rained down around him. "Starting with this card: Offspring of Lightning and Death."

Suddenly storm clouds appeared over Hiccup head and a sword with a dragon-like hilt appeared right in front of him.

"Do you think you are the only guy who could ritual summon?" Hiccup asked. "Now I sacrifice Dragon Knight's Toothless and Sharpshot, whose level total that of 8 in order to summon Dragon Knight Alpha Toothless!"

Speedfist gasped as Toothless and Sharpshot appeared right beside Hiccup and turn into bolts of lightning and entered into the storm cloud above them. Hiccup then grabbed hold of the sword and was struck by a bolt of lightning.

At first the only thing people could see was the smoke, but once it dispelled they all stared in shock. Hiccup was now wearing dragon-like armour similar to that of Toothless, only a lot more grander. In his hand he held the sword he grabbed earlier.

"How do you like my new look?" he asked lifting the visor. (ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2400)

Everyone's eyes were now upon Hiccup.

Astrid just stared. "Did he just—"

"Become a monster?" Heather finished.

"Hiccup certainly knows how to put on a show," said Wolflegs, who was also shocked.

"I don't believe it," said Fishlegs.

"Alpha Toothless has the same ability as Toothless meaning whenever he destroy the monster you take damage equal to its attack points," said Hiccup.

"Impressive show," said Speedfist, who had recovered from the shock. "But my Swordsman, destroyed in battle and now I activate my facedown card Spirit Barrier!"

Speedfist's trap card revealed itself and created a barrier around him. "Now as long as I have a monster on my field Spirit Barrier will change any battle damage to 0. Plus, my Swordsman's attack point increase since I have a Trap Card out."

Doom Swordman's was then covered in a strange aura. (ATK: 0-3000/ DEF: 0-3000)

"They sure do," said Fishlegs. "All the way to 3000, not good."

"I'm not finished yet, because now I equip Alpha Toothless with Inferno the Dragon Blade!" Hiccup yelled placing his last card in his slot.

Suddenly the blade of the sword he was holding was covered in flames.

Hiccup clutch the sword with a firm grip and pointed it at the Doom Swordman. "And now Alpha Toothless is going to attack the Doom Swordman with Inferno Dragon Sword!"

Everyone stared as Hiccup ran straight towards Doom Swordman with his blazing sword held high. Their blades clashed, but Hiccup's blade shattered and he was sent back across the field with his armour falling to pieces.

"Did you forget that Doom Swordman can't be destroyed in battle?" Speedfist asked shaking his head. "Come now Hiccup, I thought you are smarter than that."

"Actually I was hoping you would destroy Alpha Toothless," said Hiccup smiling as he got to his feet. "Because since you sent Inferno to the graveyard I can destroy all your Spell and Trap Cards."

Speedfist eyes widened as there was a huge explosion destroying his Spirit Barrier and with that gone Doom Swordman began to lose power. (ATK: 3000-0/ DEF: 3000-0)

"Good show, Hiccup," said Speedfist. "But your defeat is still inevitable. I can simply switch my Swordsman to the defence mode and weight I've until I get a trap or strong enough monster to wipe out your Life Points."

"Actually, you won't be getting the chance," said Hiccup. "You see when Alpha Toothless is destroyed I get to summon one Dragon Knight Toothless to the field."

Speedfist eyes widened as Dragon Knight Toothless emerged onto the field. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2200)

"And don't forget it's still my Battle Phase so Toothless attack the Lithmus Doom Swordsman with Plasam Blast!" Hiccup commanded.

"Right away," said Toothless.

Toothless then jumped into the air and created a plasma orb in his hand and tossed it straight Doom Swordsman. Doom Swordsman wasn't destroyed due to his special ability, but the explosion did hit Speedfist.

Hiccup: 400 (Winner)

Speedfist: 0

Cheers erupted all around them as the monsters disappeared and the duel disks were turned off.

Wolflegs smiled, "I guess when it came to Hiccup Haddock, Speedfist miscalculated…" He mused as he walked away.

"I guess or maybe some strategies you can't solve…" Astrid murmured.

Meanwhile, Spitelout was wallowing in his own sea of despair. He slowly sank to the floor, "does that slacker ever lose?!"

Chancellor Stoick rose from his seat, "So the winner is Hiccup Haddock. Well done, son, you will be Duel Academy's rep at the School Duel!"

"Where to go, Hic," said Ragnar

"Yeah, that was totally amazing," Syrus praised.

"Indeed," Speedfist walked up to them. "You beat me fair and square Hiccup, or rather, you beat this deck," he held up his defeated deck, "But you can be sure that there'll be another."

"And another duel I hope," said Hiccup. Hiccup then extended his hand out. "Until then."

"Yes, until then," said Speedfist and shook Hiccup's arm.

* * *

Dragon Knight Alpha Toothless

ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2400

8 stars

WIND

Warrior/ Ritual/ Effect

You can Ritual Summon this card with "Offspring of Lightning and Death". This card is treated as a Dragon-Type while face up on the Field or in the Graveyard. When this card destroys a monster in battle the opponent takes damage equal to its attack points. If this card is destroyed by a battle or by a card effect you can summon one "Dragon Knight Toothless" from your hand or Graveyard.

Offspring of Lightning and Death

Ritual Spell Card

This card is used to Ritual Summon "Dragon Knight Alpha Toothless". You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal 8 or more.

Card image: image of a man holding a sword while lightening rained down around him.

Inferno the Dragon Blade

Equip Spell Card

Equip this to one Dragon Knight you control. The monster equipped with this is unaffected by spells or trap cards during the Battle Phase. If this card and the monster controlling it is sent to the graveyard then destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the opponent's side of the field.

Card image: Inferno


	23. Rolf the Laid-Back

**I begin university tomorrow so update will be slower.**

* * *

It was a nice peaceful day at Duel Academy, but it wasn't peaceful for some. Spitelout was making his way to the farm that was on the Academy grounds. To say Spitelout was in a foul mood would be an understatement.

"I can't believe Hiccup is going to be Duel Academy's Student Representative at the School Duel," he fumed. "What an embarrassment! I can't let it take place! I'll do whatever I have must to stop him."

He then open the pen to the chicken coop. "Which brings me here. To the site of Duel Academy's most dangerous specimen."

He was then suddenly attacked by chickens and roosters. "Oh, not you bird brains!" he yelled as he fended off.

He quickly made his way to a sandbox and found a secret door. "This is a foul predicament! I've got a fly this coop and quick!" he yelled as he opened it. "Ah, the secret entrance."

However before he could descend on the ladder the chickens and roosters attacked him once again and he toppled over into the secret entrance.

"You're really egging me on!" he yelled before he landed hard on the bottom floor.

He quickly opened a vault and jumped right in with chickens pecking at him head to toe. "All right, the yolks over!"

He then tossed the chickens through the vault door and closed it behind him. He lay down with a sigh of relief.

"It's just like they say, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs," he said. The room he was in had hazmat suits and he began putting one on. "And it's about time to break Hiccup for good."

He then opened another secret door and entered into to another chamber and in the centre was a large dome. "I mean after all, with what is lurking in this containment vault, he's not going to stand a chance."

A platform then began to extend itself over to the dome and he inserted his card through a slot. It then began to open and a bright light covered Spitelout.

"You there, Rolf?" he asked. "It's an old friend Dr. Spitelout. There's a young duellist I like you to meet. I know it's been a while, but I think you deserve the lesson from the Academy's best."

Spitelout then laughed as he ended inside the vault.

* * *

Hiccup meanwhile was in a classroom trying sources deck out for the School Duel. Though that was easier said than done since he had no idea who be up against what cards they would use.

"Man, I for trying to prepare myself to duel Speedfist would be difficult," Hiccup groaned.

Then his friends surrounded him they had been trying to persuade him to use some of their cards.

"You know my Water Dragon would be a fine addition to your deck for the School Duel," said Speedfist holding his Water Dragon out.

"That Water Dragon is a total washout," said Astrid holding out her Valkyrie Recruit out. "You need something strong like Valkyrie Recruit."

"I think you need some heavy metal like Machine Queen," said Heather holding her card out.

"You can use my Power Bond if you need it," said Fishlegs holding out Power Bond.

Hiccup had been trying to get away from them ever since the Duel Off. "What I need is time to think!" he yelled in frustration.

"There's no need to be rude, Hiccup," said Speedfist. "We're only trying to help. After all you've been selected as the Academy's Representative at the School Duel. This is huge."

"And if you don't win it's going to be a huge disappointment," Astrid added.

"You're not helping," Hiccup muttered. He then took a deep breath and looked them. "I know the School Duel is counting on me, but all I can duel is my best."

"You're absolutely right. Duelling isn't about trophies it's about being the best you can," Speedfist agreed.

"Yeah," Astrid nodded.

"And the best…" He then held out his Water Dragon. "Needs the power of my Water Dragon card."

"Or my Power Bond," said Fishlegs.

"Or Valkyrie Recruit," said Astrid.

"Machine Queen all the way," said Heather.

"All right, that it! No more!" Hiccup yelled getting to his feet. He then quickly picked up his cards and his Duel Disk. "If I'm ever going to sort my deck I need to be alone!"

He then ran off, but much to his annoyance the others were let him off that easy.

"Good call," said Speedfist following him. "Let's lose these guys."

"Yeah, totally," said Fishlegs running after him.

Soon four of them were following him.

Hiccup ran out of the classroom as quickly as he could, which was not easy with a prosthetic leg. He looked around trying to find a hiding place and saw Ragnar gesturing for him to follow him.

Hiccup didn't know whether Ragnar would insist that he put one of his card in his deck, but right now he wants to get away from Astrid and the others.

"Wouldn't leave you alone would they?" Ragnar asked as they ran up some stairs.

"They've been on non-stop," Hiccup moaned. He then looked at Ragnar. "Please tell me you're not going to insist that I for one of your cards in my deck."

"I think the last thing you want is people breathing down your neck," said Ragnar. "Besides using a card series using any other card other than those from those series would deeply damage your deck."

"Thank Thor, someone finally understands," said Hiccup.

* * *

They soon made it to the roof of the campus and they took several deep breaths. Then they noticed they want alone, an Obelisk Blue was laying down the roof. However he did like your average Obelisk, for one thing he looked like a hippie with the sandals, the torn trousers, dirty T-shirt, and the Obelisk Blue blazer wrapped around his shoulders.

"What's up?" he asked.

Hiccup sighed. "No offence, but I was hoping to find some peace and quiet."

Ragnar frowned. "What are you doing up here?"

"I'm up here to duel your friend, Hiccup," said the obelisk simply.

"Uh, who are you?" Hiccup asked.

"Just a dude with a deck," he said simply. "Call me Rolf the Laid-Back." He then looked up at the sky. "You have a notice how clouds look like Duel Monsters if you look really close?"

"This kid weirding me out," said Ragnar.

"I'm inclined to agree," said Toothless appearing alongside Hiccup.

"Cool spirit," said Rolf looking up and looking at Toothless. "Never seen a spirit like that one before."

"Wait, you can see him?" Hiccup gasped.

"Are you saying this guy is able to see duel monster spirits?" said Ragnar's stunned.

After the incident at the Abandoned Dorm, Hiccup explained to Ragnar what happened. At first was sceptical, but after the incident with Jinzo he started to believe Hiccup.

"Of course I can and hear him too," said Rolf.

"Be careful, this boy is different," said Toothless.

"We're all different man," said Rolf. He then got to his feet and grabbed his Duel Disk and looked at Hiccup. "Anyway, let's duel man."

"Any typical reason why you want to duel?" Hiccup asked. "Not many Obelisks would waste their time with a red like me?"

"Red. Blue. Yellow. Who cares," said Rolf dismissively. "Those symbols the man uses to propagate social division. See, it's all a conspiracy of the political and industrial complex to impersonate the so-called free market?"

Hiccup and Ragnar exchange glances.

"Do you have any idea what he just said?" Hiccup asked.

Ragnar shook his head. "Not in the slightest."

"He's only a weird one," Toothless admitted.

"Well, let's get duelling," said Hiccup getting up and grabbing his Duel Disk. "I could use the practice anyway."

"Hiccup, there you are!" Fishlegs yelled as he and the others emerge onto the roof.

"Hey, you guys are just in time," said Ragnar.

"Just in time for what?" Fishlegs asked. He then saw Rolf. "And who is an Obelisk over there?"

"Indeed?" said Speedfist.

"Well, he's going to be my opponent," said Hiccup.

Unbeknownst to everyone else, Spitelout was a hazmat suit looking down at them from a pillar.

"Poor, Hiccup," he said with false sympathy. "Once Rolf uses his special skills, he will be able to compete in the School Duel or anywhere else ever again. Good thing I pulled my protected armour out of the closet. Otherwise I'd end up in the stupa they're about to be in."

He then laughed as Hiccup and Rolf began to duel.

"Let's duel," they said.

Hiccup: 4000

Rolf: 4000

"Hey, man, whatever," said Rolf as he drew. "All right, first I'm going to summon out Mokey Mokey in defence Mody Mody."

He then summoned a strange box like Angel with a question mark over his head. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 100)

Then something very strange happened, Astrid, Fishlegs, Heather and Speedfist began to get all goofy.

"Goodness me, that's not a monster it's a marshmallow," said Speedfist.

"He's so cute, like a great big fluffy pillow," said Astrid putting on a smile that creeped Hiccup out.

"I just want to hug it," said Heather.

"Makes you want to take a nap," said Fishlegs.

"Uh, you guys all right?" Ragnar asked.

Spitelout smiled as he saw Astrid and the others acting funny. ' _Ha, it's working_ ,' he thought.

"All right, I get out tossed down a couple and chill," said Rolf as tow facedown cards appeared in front of him.

"My turn then," said Hiccup as he drew. "Okay, I'm gonna summon Dragon Knight Hookfang in attack mode."

The muscular knight and appeared on the field swinging his mace. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000)

"And next since he's out on the field I can summon Dragon Knight Fanghook," Hiccup continued.

Then the eager young knight appeared on the field right next to Hookfang. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800)

"So, still want to duel me now?" Hiccup asked.

Rolf just clapped. "Totally, man, those monsters look righteous."

"Righteous?" Hiccup blinked. "Not the reaction I was looking for."

"How about you focus on the duel?" Toothless suggested.

"Yeah, good point, bud," said Hiccup. "Let's try not some sense into him. Fanghook take out Mokey Mokey with Flame Uppercut!"

Fanghook charged at Mokey Mokey with his firing mace ablaze.

"Your attack will not stand, man," said Rolf. "I've got a Trap Card. It's called Human Wave Tactics, wrap your mind around this. At the end of each turn I can summon monster that the same level as the one that's been destroyed. They have to be level 2 or below, but about the balance man, Ying and Yang."

"Whatever that means," Hiccup shrugged. "That trap card doesn't stop Fanghook's attack."

Fanghook then dealt Mokey Mokey a powerful fiery uppercut with his mace destroying him.

"And with Mokey Mokey out of the way, Hookfang can attack you directly!" Hiccup yelled.

Hoookfang charged at Rolf and swung his blazing mace right down on top of him. Knocking him off his feet.

Hiccup: 4000

Rolf: 2400

"And I'll call that a turn, Rolf," said Hiccup.

"Ugh, that was a very unchill, dude," Rolf groaned. "But now I can summon Happy Lover thanks to Human Wave Tactics."

Then a small feathered cherub with a large heart on its forehead appeared on the field in attack mode. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 500)

Rolf then drew his card. "And since Happy Lover like to share the love I bring back his bud, Mokey Mokey in attack modey modey."

He then summoned a second Mokey Mokey to the field, but in attack mode this time. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 100)

Then Astrid and the others began acting goofy once again much to Hiccup's annoyance.

"He has such a calming presence," said Speedfist.

"Mokey Mokey makes everything so chill," said Astrid.

"He makes you just want to lie down and take a nap," said Heather.

"I feel fuzzy and warm," said Fishlegs.

Spitelout just smirked.

"Okay, something seriously is wrong," said Ragnar, who started to feel a bit woozy.

"That's just the beginning, man," said Rolf. He then placed a Spell Card in his slot "Now I play Mokey Mokey Smackdown. Then I'll think I'll attack your Fanghook with my Happy Lover."

"What for?" Hiccup asked confused. "Fanghook got way higher attack points than your Lover."

"I know, but it's all good," said Rolf a bit too relaxed. "Go Gushy Burst!"

Happy Lover then blasted the being straight at Fanghook, who deflected it straight back at Happy Lover destroying him.

Hiccup: 4000

Rolf: 2000

Then something really strange happened, Mokey Mokey looked at where Happy Lover was destroyed with outrage. He then puffed out his cheeks and went completely red and the question mark on top of his head turn into an explanation mark.

Though apparently asked in the others thought it was the cutest thing ever.

"Wow, look at Mokey Mokey go," said Astrid.

"I can just watch him for days," said Speedfist.

"I've never seen anyone like him," said Heather.

"Yeah, he's the best!" Astrid yelled.

"He sure is, because since your Fanghook just destroyed a Fairy-Type monster my Mokey Mokey Smackdown Spell Card activates. And that raises Mokey Mokey's attack points by 3000. Far out, huh? Power to the Mokey Mokey," said Rolf.

"Uh-oh," said Hiccup.

"Brilliant move," said Speedfist.

"That Mokey Mokey is just something else," said Astrid.

"He's just out of this world," said Heather.

"Still warm and fuzzy," said Fishlegs.

"I'm getting a feeling as well, but it's anything but warm and fuzzy," said Ragnar trying to keep his eyes open.

Suddenly a bright light shot out from Mokey Mokey as his attack points increased. (ATK: 300-3000)

"You go Mokey Mokey!" said Astrid, Heather and Fishlegs in unison.

"Yeah, and were going right there with you," said Speedfist as they clapped ferociously.

Hiccup that had enough and turned to face them. "Oh, come on," he said. "Just who are you looking for?"

"You have to ask? Mokey Mokey!" said Speedfist.

Hiccup facepalmed himself. "I should have seen that one coming."

"Way to show loyalty guys," said Ragnar.

"Now where was I," said Rolf and Hiccup turn to look at him. "Oh yeah, I was about to have my Mokey Mokey attack your Hookfang."

"Not good," said Hiccup.

"Don't worry, the Mokey Mokey Wave is full of good vibrations," Rolf assured. Mokey Mokey then began to flap his wings furiously sending a vibration across the field. "Well, not good for your Hookfang though."

The sonic waves hit Hookfang and he exploded and Hiccup held his ground as the explosion hit him.

Hiccup: 2600

Rolf: 2400

"Mokey Mokey," said Astrid and the others.

"What's with you guys?" Hiccup snapped.

"Their certainly acting funny and to be quite frank I think a bit out of it myself," said Ragnar as if he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Their feeling the moke," said Rolf.

"Moke?" Hiccup blinked.

"The moke is all about harmony man. And there's more where that came from," said Rolf as he activated another one of his spell cards. "I'm playing Mystic Wok. And just like a sizzling plate of Kong Powell tofu Mystic Wok refills my energy. The balance dude, I only get Life Points equal to the attack point of the monster I sacrifice. So I sacrifice Mokey Mokey."

Mokey Mokey then vanished off the field. "So that's three grand in points."

Hiccup: 2600

Rolf: 5400

"And since Happy Lover is gone, Human Wave Tactics restores balance to my universe. I just gotta choose which balance," said Rolf as he began looking through his deck. "And I'm thinking Haniwa is just my type of zing."

"Haniwa?" Hiccup blinked.

"Yeah."

Then suddenly a stone-like creature appeared on the field. (ATK: 500/ DEF: 500)

"What next?" Hiccup groaned.

"Hey, Hiccup," said Speedfist.

Hiccup turn and found his friend sitting on the ground cross-legged, Ragnar was leaned against the wall fighting to stay awake.

"You gotta chill out man," said Speedfist.

"What?" Hiccup blinked. He had never heard Speedfist sound like that before it was slightly unnerving.

What unnerves him even more was what Astrid said next. "You're surrounded by this negative energy, dude. You can't bring that to a duel." She then opened her arms out. "Come here and I'll make all that negative energy go away."

"Uh, beg pardon?" Hiccup blinked.

"She just wants to give you a big hug, dude," said Heather.

"Uh…" Was all Hiccup could say.

"Saying our mantra, man," said Fishlegs.

"Mantra?" Hiccup stared.

"Mokey Mokey!" They sang.

Hiccup groaned.

From his hiding place Spitelout laughed at the site. "I love it when a plan comes together. They're all under his spell and soon Hiccup will be as well."

"What's wrong with you guys?" Hiccup yelled. He then realised that baiting like this until Rolf began to duel. He quickly turned and glared at him. "What did you do to my friends?"

"Free their minds, man," said Rolf simply.

"Mokey Mokey!" Astrid and the other sang.

"Okey dokey, Mokey Mokey," said Rolf smiling.

He then heard laughter above him and turned to see Spitelout jumping off the pillar where he was hiding. Then before he reached the roof a jet pack launch and he gently landed on the ground.

"Hiccup, I see you met one of my favourite students, Rolf," said Spitelout as he made his way over to Rolf. "I just love him. Well, when I'm safe from his powers."

"Uh… his what?" said Hiccup puzzled.

"His powers? You see Rolf is a very special duellist, he was left on the Academy's doorstep as a baby and quickly became a master duellist. As a mere child he rose through the ranks it was then strange things began to occur."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with my friend acting weird?" Hiccup asked.

"Exactly," said Spitelout. "You see Mokey Mokey comes alive when he duels with him.

"Comes alive?" said Hiccup.

"I knew there was something different about this boy," said Toothless. "When he plays Mokey Mokey its sense of some strange aura that affects all the nearby people in the area."

"That explains a lot," said Hiccup.

"Mokey Mokey!" Astrid and the other sang again.

"It's cool, man. It's not like they're in any kind of danger or anything," Rolf assured. "Mokey Mokey, just makes them feel nice and cosy."

"Indeed, it was made all the school students feel that way," said Spitelout. "And that is why we had to move Rolf. And build him a new home, a titanium encased holographic chamber deep underground."

"You mean a prison," said Hiccup narrowing his eyes.

"Prison is such an ugly word. We prefer 'mandatorily restrained habitat' it was actually quite nice inside. Like an island paradise."

"Sure it was," said Hiccup sceptically. "And just like an island he was completely stranded there, huh?"

"Nah, man, it's all good," Rolf assured. "I just chill and every time there's a student Dr. S wants me to take care of I get to come out, you know, duel… whatever. It's a pretty slick gig."

"That's right," said Spitelout placing a hand on Rolf's shoulder.

"Plus, I get plenty of time to hang out with my monster crew and spinner wheels and stuff. And dude, we have some deep talks too. We're totally unravelling the universe, you should join us."

Hiccup looked at Toothless, who shook his head.

"No thanks, we're good here," said Hiccup. "Duelling is our thing. So how about we get back to it?"

"Hey, that's chill," said Rolf.

"All right, my move," said Hiccup as he drew. "I summon Dragon Knight Windshear in attack mode!"

The black haired female knight appeared on the field with a steel blade shining in the sunlight. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1200)

"And now I'll have attack with Steel Slice" Hiccup yelled. Windshear then charge straight towards Haniwa with a steel blades ready. "Oh, and by the way when she attacked a master in defence mode if its defence point are less than her attack point the difference is dealt to you as damage."

Windshear sliced right through Haniwa causing him to explode and Rolf was hit by the after-shock.

Hiccup: 2600

Rolf: 3900

"Next up is Fanghook! Time to fire things up!"

Fanghook charge straight at Rolf and Spitelout moved out of the way right before Fanghook dealt him a blazing uppercut with his mates.

Hiccup: 2600

Rolf: 2500

"Next I'll play two cards facedown and end my turn," said Hiccup.

Rolf got back up to his feet. "Dude, you know your real party pooper, man. Good thing I've got Human Wave Tactics so I can summon a new Happy Lover."

Then a second cherub appeared on his field in attack mode. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 500)

Spitelout then noticed that Hiccup wasn't affected by Rolf's powers. "Rolf, should he be nodding off buying now? Mokey Mokey is supposed to drain Hiccup!" he yelled furiously. "But no, just look, his fine. Just check out all his friends." Astrid and the others were now fast asleep snoring away. "Why isn't Hiccup like that?"

"Search me, dude," Rolf shrugged.

"That's your answer?" said Spitelout.

"It's cool," said Rolf as he drew. "Watch, I'm going to use my Pot of Greed it let me draw two more cards." Rolf drew his two extra cards and activated one of them. "Far out, I got Dark Factory of Mass Production. It may sound so totalitarian, but it let me bring back to masters for my hand." He then activated his Polymerization. "And I fuse two Mokey Mokeys said I'm already holding the third. That way I confuse them altogether and bring out this little friend."

The three Mokey Mokey's then appeared and the vortex appeared beneath them. Next second there was a huge explosion and when the smoke cleared Hiccup was facing I gigantic Mokey Mokey that have to be the size of the entire Academy building. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 100

"Little friend?" Hiccup gulped.

"You said it, man," said Rolf. "He's Mokey Mokey King! Now check out his Kings Wave."

Mokey Mokey King flooded his wings and sent a shockwave straight towards Fanghook.

"Fanghook, use you're Flame Uppercut on that thing!" Hiccup yelled.

Fanghook jumped and dealt a flaming uppercut on Mokey Mokey King causing a massive explosion.

Hiccup: 2600

Rolf: 1400

Then Hiccup noticed three bloggers landing on Rolf's field and they turned into Mokey Mokey's. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 100)x3

"That was so totally awesome man," said Rolf. "But the circle of life must go on. From one comes many, dude and the King's special effect brings back all three Mokeys."

"That's just great," said Hiccup.

Then the Mokey Mokeys said a powerful shockwave across the field and it was so powerful that Hiccup could barely hold his ground. Spitelout on the other hand wasn't so lucky, because helmet shattered and he fell to the ground and fell asleep instantly.

"All right, man, now Happy Lover attack Fanghook Cushy Burst!" Rolf commanded.

Happy Lover flew into the air and fired a beam at Fanghook, but he simply deflected with his mace destroying Happy Lover.

Hiccup: 2600

Rolf: 1000

Then the Mokey Mokey's bulked up due to the effect of Mokey Mokey Smachdown. (ATK: 300-3000)

"Ah, man look what you did to my little Mokey Mokeys," said Rolf. "Good thing my Smachdown card is still in effect, huh. Because now the get 3000 attack points."

"That's enough to win the game," said Hiccup.

"Mokey Mokey 1 go get that Fanghook, Mokey Mokey dose you're on the Windshear," said Rolf.

The two Mokey Mokeys flutter their wings and sent a sonic vibration straight towards Hiccup's monsters. Fanghook was destroyed instantly taking a large chunk out of Hiccup's Life Points.

Hiccup: 1000

Rolf: 1000

"That's enough," said Hiccup pressing two button on his Duel Disk. His facedown cards revealed itself to be Trap Cards one was Miniaturize and the other had the image of a shield with the Dragon Knight emblem on it. "First I'll use my Miniaturize Trap Card. This card allows me to lower the of one monster by about point and decrease its level by one so long as its original attack points are more than 1000."

"By Mokey Mokey only had 300 points to begin with, man," said Rolf.

"That's why I'm using it on Windshear," said Hiccup.

Suddenly Windshear began to shrink as she began to lose power. (ATK: 1900-900)

"But why do that man?" Rolf asked

"Because Gronckle Shield only works on Dragon Knight card that have 1500 points or less!" Hiccup explained. The shield appeared in Windshear's hands and she raised it blocking the second Mokey Mokey's attack. "This trap card also acts like a equip card to any Dragon Knight on the field. As long as it equipped to Windshear she can't be attacked by monsters with 1900 attack point on more."

"Nice move man, but I can still activate Human Wave Tactics," said Rolf. "Now can bring out another Happy Lover for another go around."

Then a further cherub appeared on the field, but unlike the other two this one was in defence mode. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 500)

"Plus our play this way cool Trap Card, it's called Gift to the Mystical Elf of course it's not wrap," Rolf added with airing his face down card. "Still it's like total full of good karma, I get 300 life points for every monster out."

Hiccup: 1000

Rolf: 2500

Hiccup is worn out and now Rolf had practically refilled all the points he lost earlier.

"You're not looking too hot, you wanna take a break or something?" Rolf asked.

"Maybe later, right now it's my turn," said Hiccup as he drew his card. "And it's time for me to end this. So I sacrifice Windshear in order to summon Toothless to the field."

Toothless nodded and once Windshear he appeared on the field. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2200)

"Wow, man, I gonna say I'm impressed," said Rolf. "How do you keep duelling after we put you through?"

His monsters just seemed of computers he was judging from the looks they gave.

"Because I don't give up, especially when I'm having fun," said Hiccup. He then turned to Toothless. "Okay, bud, let's take out one of those Mokey Mokeys with Plasma Blast."

"I'm on it," said Toothless.

He then created a plasma orb and tossed it straight at the Mokey Mokey in the middle destroying him instantly.

Hiccup: 1000

Rolf: 300

"And thanks to Toothless' special ability you take damage equal to the attack point of the monster he just destroyed," said Hiccup.

Rolf looked up and saw Toothless throwing a number plasma blast at him and this one knocked him off his feet.

Hiccup: 1000 (Winner)

Rolf: 0

Once the holograms faded Hiccup approached Rolf.

"That was a pretty good match, I actually thought you had me a few times," said Hiccup.

Rolf laughed. "Yeah, but I don't get it, why did you trance out?"

"I don't really know," said Hiccup rubbing the back of his head.

"It's because of your determination," said Toothless. "No matter how many times you have been knocked down you always come back stronger and it was that determination drives you to win every single one of your matches."

"Oh, I think I get it," said Rolf. "You're look duelling so much the more Mokey Mokey try to zonk you out the more revved up you got."

"I've never thought of it that way," said Hiccup.

"It's good to know… for next time," he yawned. "For now I need a nice long nap. Later."

Rolf then fell to the ground and fell asleep.

"Uh… now what do I do?" Hiccup asked looking at Toothless.

"Well, you wanted peace and quiet are now you've got it," Toothless chuckled.

Hiccup sighed.

* * *

Astrid opened her eyes and felt it was late in the afternoon and found everyone was asleep and that Spitelout was there wearing a strange-looking suit. She then noticed Hiccup laying on his back looking up at the clouds.

"What happened?" she asked rubbing her head.

Hiccup looked up. "Afternoon sleepyhead. You feeling better?"

"I guess, but what happened?" Astrid asked.

"You mean you don't remember?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid thought back and then remembered, in great embarrassment, what had happened. "Please tell me I wasn't so… zonked?"

"I'm afraid you were," said Hiccup.

"Someone just kill me now," she groaned.

"Don't worry, you weren't the only one," said Hiccup gesturing to their friends.

"What are you doing?"

"Just looking up at the clouds," said Hiccup as he looked back up at the clouds. "He was right they do look like duel monsters."

Astrid just stared at him and decided to join him, she laid down next to him and unbeknownst to the two of them they place their hands on top of each other.

* * *

Gronckle Shield

Trap Card

Equipped to a Dragon Knight with 1500 points or less attack points. The monster equipped to this card cannot be attacked by monsters with 1900 points or more.

Card image: Hiccup's shield.


	24. The New Snotlout

Out in the middle of the sea, in dense fog, was a wrecked yacht and sitting on its bow was Snotlout.

"Lousy scrubs," he muttered. "It's all their fault. My dad. Speedfist. Hiccup." He then clenched his fists. "I'm going to wipe that smug grin off his face." He then picked up his Duel Disk and activated it. "If only I could. Just one more duel that's all I want."

He then reached for a bottle of water, but found it empty. "Of course it would help you I wasn't stranded."

He then tossed the empty bottle over the side and then he realised that was his only container for freshwater.

"Oh no!" he yelled trying to grab it and ended up falling over the side.

Unfortunately, he had no idea how to swim and began sinking towards the bottom. Despite this there was only one thought going through his head. ' _I'll get you for this Slacker! I'll get you!_ '

He then lost consciousness.

* * *

Snotlout was then awakened by a strange girly sound.

"Hey, boss," it said. "Rise and shine. Up and at them. Hello!"

Snotlout opened his eyes and thought he was seeing things, because he could see a bright light and inside it was a strange small yellow creature with tentacle-like eyes wearing a red bikini brief.

"Come on! Wake up!" it said. "All right, guess I have to do my wake-up dance."

The stranger creature then turned his back on him and began winging his butt into his face. Snotlout then knocked it away and it vanished at once.

"Good morning, young duellist," said a new voice.

Snotlout looked up and saw a very strange man in front of him. It was impossible to tell who it was, because of the goggles, seaweed like hair and the scarf covering lower part of his mouth.

He then looked around and saw that he had no idea where he was. All we could tell that it was made of metal and there was seaweed and sea water all around.

"What's going on? Or better yet who are you?" he asked.

The strange man chuckled. "I'm the person who save your life and for now that all you need to know."

Snotlout then noticed that he was holding a deck of cards. "Hey, wait a sec…" He looked at his Duel Disk and found his deck was missing. "Those are my cards! Hand them over!"

"Oh certainly, how very rude of me," said the strange man. He then held out his cards. "Here you are."

Then he dropped them into a puddle of water.

"You jerk!" Snotlout yelled getting to his feet.

Then the strange man tossed him a card. "Relax, that card more than makes up for it."

"Yeah, well it better," he snarled. He then looked at the card and discovered it was an Ojama Yellow card, which had zero attack point and only 1000 defence points. "What? Some no name!" He then raised the card prepared to toss it away. "This stinks!"

"Stop!" The strange man yelled. "That is the car that will change your life."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Give me a break."

"I'll give you something far better," said the strange man. "Another chance to defeat Hiccup."

"How do you know about him? Tell me!" Snotlout snapped.

"You talk in your sleep. And from what you said it sounds like this Hiccup defeated you badly in a duel."

"Argh, he was just lucky that's all," said Snotlout crossing his arms.

"Lucky? Do you often run away from just luck?" the strange man asked.

"That's it! No one calls Snotlout Jorgenson a coward!" Snotlout roared.

"Talk is cheap, young duellist."

Snotlout then got to his feet. "That may be, but I'm rich. And I'll spend whatever it takes to be the best out there."

The strange man laughed. "That's just your problem. No amount of money can buy you that, you must earn it, if you can. And that is precisely what we're gonna find out. Good luck, young duellist."

Then before Snotlout could ask what he mean the entire chamber began to fill with water. He quickly placed his Ojama Yellow into his blazer pocket. He then saw the strange man walked away.

"Remember to hold onto your nose," he said.

Then Snotlout felt himself being will launch out like a torpedo and in some way he was, because he'd soon discovered that he had been inside a submarine and had been just launched from the torpedo bay.

He soon shot out of the water and landed on an icy surface. "Crazy kook," he muttered. "My attorney will be in touch with you."

He looked up discovered he was in some kind of icy wilderness and in the distance he could see a building.

"Oh, well, at least I'm back in civilisation," he said. He then noticed the icy wilderness. "Well, kind of, this places is low rent. No problem, one call and I'm out of here."

Snotlout soon made his way towards the building. "Only question is should I have send the plane of the chopper."

* * *

He soon reached the building and discovered more look like a sort of temple than anything else with a large wooden door.

"Not a bad spread," he admitted. "Of course, my pad is bigger."

He then began to bang on the wooden door. "Open up! Let's go, is there anybody home? Hello!" he yelled.

"Oh, their home," said a voice. Snotlout turned and found a man in his 50s sitting by a fire. He looked as tough as Stoick, but he looked completely worn out. "You need 40 cards for them to let you in. I'm afraid that's just how it works here at North Academy."

Snotlout then stared at the temple "North Academy? So, this is the school that Duel Academy's arch rival then."

"That's right. Here take a seat with me friend, I could use some company," he said and Snotlout sat next to him. "After all, I've been here for a long while."

Snotlout looked at him. "How it works is that there are cards hidden all round in lakeshore crevices, ice cliffs. It kind of a test, fined 40 and they'll let you win."

Snotlout then noticed that he had a full deck of cards in his Duel Disk. "So, how many do you have?"

"Well, I've actually managed to find 39 cards, but it took every last bit of energy I had to do so. I'm too worn out to look for the fortieth."

Snotlout new math wasn't his best subject, but he had one card thanks to the strange guy from earlier and with this guy's 39 he would have a 40 he would need to enter into the Academy.

"Great, then you don't need the other 39. Here, I'll buy them off you," said Snotlout as he pulled out a cheque. "Go on take it."

The man looked at it and knocked it out of his hand. "I won't sell these cards for a million dollars. Besides, besides this fire the clothes there all I have. Their priceless."

Snotlout grumbled and placed the cheque back into his blazer. "Fine. I'll find my own," he said.

He then got up and walked away. "The man just watched as he walked away, "Good luck, young duellist. This barren wasteland, you'll needed."

* * *

Snotlout spent the next few hours looking for 40 cards and like the man said they were scattered all over the place. He had to climb ice cliffs, had to break through the ice and swim in the freezing cold water.

' _I can't believe I have to fetch 40 cards, just to get North Academy to open their stinking door for me_ ,' he thought to himself as he climbed an ice cliff. ' _Talk about a school that's hard to get into_.'

* * *

The next day, he returned to North Academy, worn out and exhausted, but in his Duel Disk he had a full deck of cards. He noticed the man from earlier was still at the fire trying to warm himself up.

"I see you've been busy doing nothing," he said.

"Your back?" he gasped getting to his feet. "Did you find them? Did you find 40 cards?"

"Of course," said Snotlout presenting his Duel Disk.

"Well, congrats," he said. "Guess you'll be moving on to better things, but don't worry about me I'll be quite all right. Well, until the winter gets here anyway?"

"The winter?" Snotlout blinked. He had lost track of time and for that it was winter at this place.

"Oh, yes," said the man. "These are summer months, right now. Their quite pleasant actually and the falls is nice to… only about 30 below." Snotlout just stared at him. "After that it tends to get a little bit nippy."

"Huh-uh," Snotlout nodded.

"But listen to me, I'm sure you'll want to get on your way," said the man.

"Oh, quit your whining already will you," Snotlout snapped. He then pulled out his deck. "I lied to you, I didn't just find 40 card I found 41. An extra one just so you can come in too."

The man just stared at him. "You mean—I get to enter? Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. Get over it, now take your stinking card, just don't make a big deal out of it, okay," said Snotlout.

He reached out for his Ojama Yellow card, knowing that it will be totally useless to him. However, when he tried to present it to him his arm just moved away.

"Are you gonna give it to me or not?" the man asked.

"My hand? I can't let go," he said as he tried to force his hand open.

Then Ojama Yellow popped out right in front of him. "You can't give me away. We're pals, chums, best friends, friends forever, you know BFFs," said Ojama Yellow.

Snotlout just stared at him. "We are not!"

"What's going on?" the man asked confused.

Snotlout stared at him. "Don't you see it?"

"See what?" the man asked looking around.

Ojama Yellow laughed as he wiggled his butt in Snotlout's face. "Ah, boss, you're the only one that can see me."

"Go away!" Snotlout yelled.

"Look, if we're going to partners you need to stop being so uptight," said Ojama Yellow.

"You're not real! Get lost!" Snotlout yelled getting annoyed now.

"Get lost? Funny you should say that you know I have four brothers who are lost. We really should find them for our deck."

"Why it," said Snotlout trying to keep it cool as he placed the card back into his deck. He then looked at the man. "You know… never mind that was wrong card." He then grabbed a different card from his deck and gave it him. "Take this."

"Uh… sure whatever you say," said the man still confused about what just happened. "I really appreciate Mr…"

"The name's Snotlout Jorgenson and don't you forget it," said Snotlout and made his way over to the fire. "At on second thought, do forget it. I would rather not have people associate me with you."

He then laid against the ice block and looked at the man. "Now, go ahead and get inside. I like to make my own entrance."

"Oh yes, certainly," said the man as he made his way to the large wooden doors. "Thanks again."

"Thanks for nothing," Snotlout muttered. "I really only found 40 cards, now I'm one short."

Then Snotlout notice a card next to him. It was a Spell Card called, Chaos End. He was slightly confused, how did that guy miss it, but right now he could use it in order enter into North Academy.

In no time at all he placed the card in his deck and approached the doors.

"All right, open this door!" he yelled presenting his Duel Disk. "I got your 40 cards right here!"

Then several beams shot from the gate and struck his Duel Disk. No doubt they were verifying that he did had 40 cards and his Duel Disk activated. Seconds later the giant wooden doors opened up.

* * *

He wandered inside and found it had a cowboy town theme to it. "This is it?" he said. "North Academy? What a dump."

Then he saw the man from outside been kicked out of a nearby building. He quickly rushed over to him.

"Hey, you're okay?" he asked.

"What happened?" he said.

He then heard a laugh. "You got the North Academy welcome is what happened."

Snotlout looked around and saw several duellist emerging out of the buildings of them had Duel Disk and jackets with a large N on them. He the guy who spoke, he was quite large and muscular judging from the way he was standing he was obviously the top dog.

"And now it's your turn," he said. "Think you're up to the challenge, newbie?"

"Who are you?" Snotlout asked.

"I'm the guy who runs things around here, the name is Thuggory," he said. He then noticed the blazer he was wearing. "Judging from that blue blazer you were from Duel Academy you will know someone by the name of Hiccup do you?"

Snotlout's eyes widened. "How do you know about Hiccup?"

"Because like his father my father is the chancellor of this school and when you're parents are top duellist you do tend to know each other."

"What it is to this guy?" Snotlout asked gesturing to the man.

"He simply took part in our 50 Man Duel Goblet," Thuggory explained.

"50 Man what's it?" Snotlout blinked.

"50 Man Duel Goblet, it's how we rank students round here," Thuggory explained. "It's quite simple really you have to duel 50 and you start at the lowest rank and work your way up. When you lose that your rank, but of course if you don't lose then you have to duel me."

"But everybody loses," said North Academy student. "Like your friend here. He lost the very first match he had."

"Guess who's on latrine duty now," said another student.

Snotlout laughed and got to his feet. "So I have to win 50 times and that's it?"

"Easier said than done, rookie," said a student.

"The name is Snotlout… Snotlout Jorgenson and soon Thuggory will fall and then the Jorgenson will rise," said Snotlout.

"Snotlout Jorgenson," said Thuggory looking up. "Ah, so you're the duellist that couldn't bear losing to Hiccup."

"He just got lucky," Snotlout snapped.

Thuggory laughed. "Luck is a loser's excuse. You lied, cheat and bought your way to the top and that sort of thing is what I hate. You use your family's money and its influence just to get to the top but that just shows how poor duellist you truly are. A real duellist would win using his own power."

"Then let me show you how powerful I am," said Snotlout.

* * *

Snotlout then began his first match of the 50 Man Duel Goblet and he was winning despite using a mismatch deck.

"Go Limiter Removal!" Snotlout yelled activating his spell card on his KA-2 Des Scissors. (ATK: 1000-2000)

"Now Des Scissors attack with Toxic Haze!" Snotlout commanded.

Des Scissors then blasted a toxic fume at his opponent reducing his life points to 0.

"You lose," said Snotlout.

"All right, my turn now," said another student.

* * *

Snotlout winning his matches again and again until he defeated 45 students.

"So what?" said the forty-sixth student.

"Beating those amateurs doesn't prove a thing," said the forty-seventh.

"You still have to get through the four of us," said the forty-eighth.

"Only then can you duel Thuggory," said the forty-ninth.

"Duel each one of you?" said Snotlout. "That'll take too long. How about I take you all on at once?"

"You're on," said the four students.

"Duel!" they yelled.

"My turn," said the forty-sixth student as he drew his card. "Come on out Marauding Captain."

In the battle hardened captain appeared on his field. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 400)

"And I'm not done yet. When this monster card is summoned to the field I'm allowed to summon another monster and I'll play another Marauding Captain."

Then a second Marauding Captain appeared alongside the first.

"And so will I," said the forty-seventh student.

"Me too," said the forty-eighth student.

"Same with me," said the forty-ninth student.

Soon there were eight Marauding Captains on the field and Ojama Yellow, who was floating next to Snotlout, screamed at the sight of them.

"Oh, and in case you've forgotten, rookie, when there are two or more Captains on the field you can't attack any of them," said the forty-sixth student smirking.

"Nah, he can forget that," said the forty-seventh student. "Because he probably never even knew in the first place."

"Ha, good point and now he will suffer for it," said forty-eighth student.

"Please, the only way you scrubs could make me suffer is to keep blabbing like you are, my turn," said Snotlout as he drew. "I'll play two facedowns and one Giant Rat in defence mode."

Then a large rat holding a skull in its claw appeared on the field. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 1450)

"All you're throwing is an overgrown rodent? What a joke," said the forty-ninth student.

"Perhaps, after all he is a weaker card," Snotlout admitted. "One that the old Snotlout would never have had in his deck, but I've learned something since I've arrived here. I learned that life deals you all kinds of cards and sometimes you have to make the best with what you've got."

"Ah, that's so nice of your boss," said Ojama Yellow. "You're talking about me, huh."

Snotlout glared at him. "Actually, I wasn't. You're still just an annoying and revolting and non-existent as ever. You got it!" Before students are stared at him blankly to then he was yelling at Giant Rat. "You're a disgusting little yellow gremlin and I don't want like you so quit bugging me!"

"Disgusting maybe, but little and yellow, get your eyes checked," said the forty-sixth student as he drew. "Now back to the duel. I pray the Allied Forces it allows all Warriors-Type monsters to gain 200 attack points for each Warrior-Type monster out on the field. Which means Marauding Captain now has 2800 attack points!"

All the Marauding Captains in the field suddenly gained increasing power. (ATK: 1200-2800)x8

"Now go! Smash that Rat!" he ordered.

One of the Marauding Captains destroyed Giant Rat leaving Snotlout wide open.

"He's defenceless, charging men!" The forty-seventh student commanded.

All the Marauding Captains charged straight towards Snotlout.

"Sorry, but I play my Rat's ability!" Snotlout yelled. "It lets me summon an Earth Attribute monster with 1500 or fewer attack points. So come on out the Gyaku-Gire Panda."

Then suddenly a large fierce looking Panda appeared on the field with relief on its head. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1600)

"Look at the big teddy bear. How cuddly," said the forty-eighth student.

"You may not think so after this," said Snotlout. "I play Panda's ability. For every monster on your field he gains 500 attack points. Not so cuddly now is he?"

Panda then began to increase in size as power built up inside him. (ATK: 800-4800)

"And next I'm going to activate a trap, Ring of Destruction," said Snotlout revering one of his facedown cards.

Then a large ring appeared around Panda's neck.

"This trap destroys one monster and then all players take damage equal to that monsters attack points," Snotlout explained.

"But why? We'll just all end up with zero life points?" said the forty-ninth student.

"I won't, because I have this, Ring of Defence!" Snotlout cried revering his other facedown card. Then a ring appeared in front of him and spun around like a shield. "This Spell Card protects me from all damage. And that means you're about to lose."

Then the ring exploded destroying Panda and dealing damage to the four students reducing their life points to 0.

"Very impressive," said Thuggory as he made his way onto the battlefield and activated his Duel Disk. "You're very skilled I will admit that, but let's see how for your skill goes against me."

"Duel!" They yelled.

Snotlout: 4000

Thuggory: 4000

"Me first," said Thuggory as he drew. "And I'm going to activate two copies of Fiend Sanctuaries. Now I get to Metal Fiend tokens."

Black steam then appeared on the field and when it dispelled to metal-like creatures appeared on the field. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 0)x2

"But like you they won't be staying long, because I sacrificed them and summon Zoa!" said Thuggory as his two tokens vanished.

Then appearing on the field was a large beastie creature with sharp claws. (ATK: 2600/ DEF: 1900)

"Next, I'll play two facedown and enter my turn," said Thuggory as two cards appeared by his feet. "Now let's see what you can do."

"I can do quite a lot, my turn," said Snotlout as he drew. He looked at the khadi drew and saw that it was Ojama Yellow, much to his dismay. "Argh, you again?"

Ojama Yellow then appeared from the card. "Nice to see you to. Need me to find a monster for ya? Let's do it," he said. He then turned and saw Zoa towering over Thuggory's field. "Uh… nevermind."

"You know, I think I finally found a way to get rid of you," Snotlout smirked. "I play Ojama Yellow!"

Ojama Yellow then appeared on the field in defence mode much to his dismay. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 1000)

"No, please anyone but me!" he begged.

"Then I'll toss two facedowns and then my turn," said Snotlout.

"I was expecting more," said Thuggory as he drew. "I now activate one of my facedown cards, Metalmorph and our equipment onto Zoe. And now I'm going to sacrifice my Zoa so I can summon something even better." Zoa then faded away along with the Metalmorph card. "The ferocious MetalZoa."

Then appearing from out of the ground came a metal version of Zoa. (ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2300)

Ojama Yellow whimpered at the sight of this new monster.

"And the next I'm going to activate another Trap Card, Call of the Haunted," said Thuggory revealing his last facedown card. "Now I can bring back one monster for my Graveyard and I'll bring back regular Zoa."

Zoa men appear out of the ground alongside the metal version of himself.

"Let's see what you can do against two monsters with over 2500 attack points," said Thuggory crossing his arms.

"Easy, I'm gonna win," said Snotlout.

"Your confidence is to be inspired, but your oversized ego is not," said Thuggory. "Don't forget I watched you duel 49 times I know your deck and I know you don't have one monster as strong as mine."

' _Maybe, but I know how to make the best with what I've got_ ,' Snotlout thought.

"All right, Zoa attack Glimmer Strike!" Thuggory ordered.

Zoa then fired an X like beam straight at Ojama Yellow, who cried and screamed as it destroyed him.

"And now that he's been taking care of Metal Zoa is going to take care of you, Hardened Glimmer Strike!" said Thuggory

Metal Zoa fired a number X like beam, but this one was much more powerful and it slammed into Snotlout.

Snotlout: 1000

Thuggory: 4000

"So, still think you're going to win?" Thuggory asked crossing his arms.

"Of course I do," said Snotlout. Thuggory raised an eyebrow. "You see I was waiting to attack me. So I could play Inferno Tempest!" Then one of Snotlout's facedown card revealed itself to be a Spell Card. "With this card when I take 3000 or more points of damage all monsters from both our Graveyard and Decks are taken out of play."

"Why would you do that?" Thuggory asked puzzled. "What are you planning?"

"If you know my deck as well as you say you do then I'm sure you know," said Snotlout as you remove all the monsters in his deck. "And that you know that your reign is coming to an end."

"An unusual move to say the least," said Thuggory as he removed the monsters from his deck. "I have two monsters out and you have none. And now you don't have any in your deck. I magic quite curious about your reasons."

"Don't worry, your curiosity is about to be quenched," said Snotlout as he drew. "All right, now I play the spell Chaos End."

Suddenly Thuggory's monsters began to crumble.

"What's going on?" said Thuggory, his eyes widened.

"Well that's the magic of Chaos End," said Snotlout. "When seven or more cards are removed from the game Chaos End destroyed every monster on your field."

"No way," said Thuggory.

He watched his two monsters were destroyed.

"And now I'll play a Trap, that's a blast from the past," said Snotlout revealing his last facedown card. "Return from the Different Dimension. Now by paying half my life points the monsters I removed from play are allowed to be brought back and summon to the field, every last one of them."

Snotlout: 500

Thuggory: 4000

Then a vortex appeared in the sky and Snotlout looked up at it.

"Now! Come on back everyone!" he yelled.

Then emerging from the vortex was Disc Fighter, KA-2 Des Scissors, Gemini Imps, Skull Knight #2 and Ojama Yellow. All them apart from, Ojama Yellow, had 1000 attack points meaning the total damage they could deal was 4000.

Ojama Yellow looked quite happy to be back. "Hey, thanks boss," he said.

"I meant everyone, except you," Snotlout growled.

Ojama Yellow cried.

"Looks like you've won," said Thuggory realising that he had lost.

"You know it," said Snotlout. He then turned to his monsters. "Now attack Thuggory!"

His form monsters attacked Thuggory, who braced himself for the impact.

Snotlout: 500 (Winner)

Thuggory: 0

"You lose," said Snotlout.

Thuggory then turned around one of the buildings. "Seems like it passed your test."

Snotlout blinked and an emerging from one of the buildings was the strange man he met in the submarine. "Indeed, he certainly earned the right to be the best."

"It's you," Snotlout gasped. "The guy who rescued me, but how did you get into the school?"

"Why you let me in, of course," he said and removed the scarf and goggles. Their standing in front of him was the man he met outside.

"Wait, you?" Snotlout stared.

"I'm North Academy chancellor and Thuggory's father, the name is Mogadon and the outside, the sub out at sea it was all to get to you, young duellist" Mogadon explained.

"To me? What for?" Snotlout asked.

"Because you have a gift, Snotlout," said Mogadon. "And I sensed at the moment you handled that Ojama Yellow card."

"I hate that stinking card," Snotlout snapped.

"You might now, but you learn and hopefully in time for the School Duel," said Mogadon. "You see by defeating Thuggory you are now the best do it at North Academy and that means you are now our schools representative in the School Duel."

"So I'm going up against someone from Duel Academy," Snotlout blinked.

"That's right, I had selected my son and while he is an excellent duellist you've clearly proven that you are better," said Mogadon. "But I also needed someone who had the motivation."

"Motivation to what? And who is the unlucky punk I'm duelling?" Snotlout asked.

"Those two questions are one in the same," said Thuggory. "Because you'll be up against Hiccup."

"Hiccup? You've got to be kidding?" said Snotlout.

"I'm not, and you shouldn't be surprised he is after all a skilled duellist whether you think so or not," said Thuggory.

"Indeed, you should not underestimate him," said Mogadon.

However, Snotlout didn't seem to hear them as the thought of duelling Hiccup again assumed him. "I'm gonna beat him so badly he will never want to duel again."

Snotlout then laughed at the top of his voice.


	25. The School Duel Part 1

A week later, on the night before the School Duel at North Academy, there was a fierce thunderstorm that racked through the school. But these weather conditions didn't change the mood of the students inside the giant wall surrounding the school.

Everyone was gathered in a huge crowd, facing a tall formation at the end of the street. On the formation, Snotlout, now wearing a black coat and Chancellor Mogadon stood, facing one another.

"Students of North Academy!" Mogadon raised his arms, "I present to you our school's best duellist to face off against our rivals!" He cried, as the rest of the students roared in cheers. "And now, I present to him, North Academy's top duelling cards!" The Chancellor walked to Snotlout and handed him new cards to help out with his deck. "With them, you will triumph!"

"Snotlout, Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!" the students cried.

Snotlout smirked as he took the cards, listening to the chant, and turned around, looking down at his fellow North Academy students.

"Duel Academy is toast!" he roared, raising a fist to the air. The crowd cheered and followed suit, each one punching the air with their fists, chanting his name over and over again.

* * *

At Duel Academy, Hiccup was at the empty arena waiting around before the competition showed.

"Well, it's almost time for the big match," he said looking at his deck. "Let's just hope we can win."

"You worry too much," said Toothless appearing at his side. "And you really should have more confidence in yourself."

"Yeah, I'm only confident when I'm duelling," said Hiccup.

"I noticed that every time you talk to Astrid," Toothless smirked.

Hiccup was about to speak up, but then he heard. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup turned to see both Fishlegs running into the arena, "Hey Legs, what's up?"

"There you are…" Fishlegs slowed to stop, "C'mon, everyone's waiting for you!"

"They're here?" Hiccup asked.

Fishlegs nodded. "North Academy just showed! Your opponent is here!"

"Then let's go?" Hiccup leapt off the platform.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chancellor Stoick, Spitelout, and everyone else at the school were at the docks waiting as the North Academy's Chancellor stepped off of the bridge from the submarine.

Stoick beamed and shook the balding man's hand, "Mogadon, it's been far too long! You seem to be doing well."

"Yes, well, I've had plenty of time to recover after that defeat you handed to us at last year's School Duel." Mogadon chuckled.

"Oh, that was a long time ago," said Mogadon dismissively, "Besides, it was a close match."

"Not really," Mogadon smiled, "But I have a feeling that this year, it will be."

Stoick nodded, "Yes, I expect that as well! Well, here's to the spirited duels between our two schools."

It was at that moment that Hiccup slipped their way through the crowd and made his way over to his father.

"Ah, you remember my son, Hiccup," said Stoick placing a hand on the shoulder. "He'll be our schools representative."

"You've certainly grown since last I saw you," said Mogadon looking at Hiccup.

"It's nice to see you again Sir," said Hiccup. "Who is my opponent? Thuggory?"

Mogadon shook his head. "No, but I was planning to have as our schools representative, but a much more promising candidate appeared."

"Who?" Hiccup asked.

"Me… Slacker."

Hiccup blinked and widened his eyes at the familiar word and voice and looked past Mogadon, at the submarine where other North Academy students stood patiently, "Who just said that?"

The crowd dispersed and revealed it was an old rival from the beginning of the year.

"It was me."

Hiccup stared in shock at who answered him, "Whoa, hold on! Am I just seeing things or is that Snotlout!?"

Snotluot smirked and folded his arms, "You got that right, Slacker!"

"Wait… so you're North Academy's school duel rep" Hiccup asked confused. "Since when did you transfer?!"

"When I stopped getting respect here…" Snotlout replied, never blinking.

Hiccup glared. "Hard to respect someone, who cheated."

"Whatever," said Snotlout.

Both Hiccup and Snotlout stared at each other down, probably thinking the same thing about the upcoming duel. However, the staring contest didn't last long as a loud whirring sound soon filled the sky and a powerful wind made everyone cover their heads.

"Now what?!" Hiccup turned to see two helicopters coming down from the sky behind the crowd. In one of the helicopters, two men stood near the open entry way. One had a goatee and the other one didn't. The only things that were similar about them were the colour of their hair, which was black, and the dark suits they both wore.

"Hey, Snotlout!" The beardless one called out.

"What's going on, Little Brother?" The other one added, "Mind if we join in?"

Snotluot's eyes widened at the two of them, "Spitlout! Slimelout! What are you doing here?!" He yelled over the helicopter blades.

"Why else?" Slimelout yelled back as the helicopters landed and the engines began to die down, "We're here to see your big duelling victory!"

Spitlout nodded as he and his brother stepped out of the helicopter, glaring at Snotlout, "You are going to win, aren't you, Snotlout?"

"I wasn't expecting to see my three boys here," said Spitleout.

"Yes, quite the family reunion isn't it, Dad?" said Spitlout.

"That's it! Beautiful! Just act natural…"

Now it got really strange. Despite the entrance of Snotlout siblings in helicopters, now the area was soon being invaded by men in things that looked like cherry picker trucks. Large cameras, hundreds of feet of cable and almost any other electrical device was soon carried around by the growing number of new people.

"Set on Camera 1!"

"We're almost ready on Cameras 2 and 3!"

Mogadon turned to the nearest person, "What's going on?"

"What's going on? I think you mean when are ya going on, and the answer is primetime baby!" The man who looked like the director answered, "This School Duel's gonna be broadcast worldwide!"

Hiccup's eyes widened and turned to the nearest camera, "You've got to be kidding."

"I'm afraid they're not," said Spitelout glaring at his eldest sons.

* * *

While everyone was getting settle in the arena, Snotlout sat in a locker room, with his brothers standing across from him. They had brought him here, away from everyone else so that could have a small chat in private. It was no surprised that Snotlout didn't want his family being around, "You set this all up, didn't you? This broadcast."

Spitlout turned to him, "Of course we did! We need to show the whole world that you're on your way to be Duel Monsters best, Snotlout. It's all in the plan…"

"Yeah yeah…" Snotlout looked away, "I know, I know!"

"World domination is on our grasp, Little Brother," Spitlout went on, "Politics, finance and Duel Monsters! If we can take them all, we can take the world! Slimelout and I have done our part, it's time you come through with your part of the plan!"

"To conquer the world of Duel Monsters," Slimelout urged, "To be the best! To not give up!" He glared at his younger brother, "Did you really think you could get away from your duties? Get away from us by dropping out of Duel Academy?"

Snotlout lowered his head, "I… I…"

"Don't deny it!" Slimelout yelled, rising to his feet, "You've always been the slacker of this family!"

Spitlout folded his arms, "It doesn't matter, the point is that you can still make this up, Snotlout! You can still show everyone that we reign supreme!"

"That's right," Slimelout reached over and picked up a nearby briefcase, "And the duelling cards in this case will help you do just that! They're the most expensive out there, so you have no excuse to lose!" he dropped the case onto the bench across from his brother, "Don't let us down, Snotlout! Don't let the Jorgenson family down! Now get out there and win that duel!"

With that, Snotlout was left alone in the locker room, his only company was the briefcase of rare cards in front of him. He stared at them with a look of

He stood up and walked to the nearest sink, head hung low. He stood there in silence, the words of his brothers fresh in his mind.

"Man up, Snotlout… man up!"

Snotlout raised his arms and pounded on the mirror, "Man up, Snotlout! Show them that Snotlout Jorgenson is no slacker, that you're worthy of the Jorgenson name!" he sank to his knees, "Show them that you can win… and that you can keep… winning…"

Tears leaked from his eyes, "Show them that your supreme… show them that you can still win…" He punched the floor, "Go and win, go and win!"

While Snotlout had his little breakdown, he didn't notice Hiccup's reflection in the mirror. He had no idea that his opponent and rival had just seen him lose himself like he did.

Hiccup eased his way out of the locker room, new thoughts and assumptions forming in his head now.

* * *

It's time for the School Duels to finally commence!

Every single seat in the arena was filled with a student from either Duel or North Academy. Everyone screamed and cheered from the top of the lungs, chanting their favourite's names as the camera crews made their rounds, catching every bit of the fanfare. Among the North Academy students sat Spitlout and Slimelout.

Mogadon and Stoick sat side by side, in the large crowd of North Academy students. "I have to admit I have been hoping to see your son duel and the legendary Dragon Knight cards Valka created."

"Win or lose the boy will do us proud," said Stoick.

On the side-lines, Hiccup looked onto the field while his friends were giving him a pep talk.

"All right, Hiccup. Here we go, the match against your duelling rival," said Fishlegs. "You're arch-nemesis how do you feel!"

Hiccup glanced at Ragnar and Fishlegs, still reeling a little bit from overhearing Snotlout. "Eh, I'm okay."

Ragnar frowned, "You're right, Hiccup? Seem a bit off."

"No…" Hiccup shook his head, "I feel fine, it's just… I overheard Snotlout talking earlier and well," He looked at Snotlout. "It's just too bad that one of us has to lose this duel. I kinda know where he's coming from now. From what I hear, it's not exactly an easy place…"

"Do you know what was it about?" Ragnar asked.

"He kept saying something about being worthy of the Jorgenson name, or something," said Hiccup.

Hiccup looked back to Snotlout, to his brothers, and thought about how they set this duel up to be on TV. He had an idea now for Snotlout's behaviour around him, but he couldn't be known for sure until he asked… and he would do that after the duel so there's no more added pressure.

"Attention students!" Stoick rose from his seat, Mogadon following suit, "Welcome to the School Duel-off between our two schools!"

Mogadon raised a hand, "And now…"

"Let this year's competition begin!" They both cried.

Stoick looked to his right hand man, "Dr. Spitelout, introduce the duellists for the event!"

"With pleasure, Chancellor Stoick," Spitelout walked onto the platform, a microphone in his hand and a camera crew moving around the platform, "After all, these are two duellists that I know personally, and by personally, I mean I just adore them!"

"Now he likes me…" Hiccup muttered to himself, getting a laugh out of Toothless.

"First, from Duel Academy—"

The section of Ras, Slifers and Obelisks erupted into a huge uproar.

"All right, settle down, settle down," Spitelout waved his arm to one side of the platform, "Introducing, Hiccup Haddock!"

More cheers erupted from Hiccup's fans and friends.

"You think Hiccup will win?" Fishlegs asked as he and Ragnar at with the rest of their friends.

"Of course he will!" Astrid declared. "He's already beaten Snotlout once. He can easily do it again!"

"Yeah, Hiccup's going to kick Snotlout's butt," said Ruffnut.

"Which be quite impressive considering how skinny Hiccup's legs are," said Tuffnut.

"With that look on Snotlout's face," Wolflegs started, pointing out the absolute look of confidence on the boy's face. "I think Hiccup just might have a rough time."

Speedfist nodded in agreement. "Indeed…"

"Yes, and I think Snotlout is doing more than just for his school," said Ragnar frowning.

Spitelout nodded, "Yes yes, now, from North Academy—"

"Get off the stage!"

"W-what?!" Spitelout turned to his son, who was walking up onto the platform.

"I'll introduce myself, scrub…"

Spitelout glared at him, "I beg your pardon!?" He roared, "Scrubs don't have PhD's in duelling!" He looked into his son's eyes and sighed. "Very well, but I what would you say boy-o."

Hiccup watched as Spitelout made his way off the stage. "A bit harsh?"

"Shut up, Slacker," Snotlout spat, walking over to him, "It's my turn now! But then, I never did need an introduction, everyone here knows who I am," He looked at the crowd of Duel Academy students, "Or do you? You see, Snotlout Jorgenson has changed! Sure, I used to be a classmate of yours, but the old Snotlout left now, and the new Snotlout is here. Here to win!"

"Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!"

Snotlout nodded as his new friends yelled the chant, "That's right, say it again!" he barked.

"Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi! No mercy, Snotlout!"

"Got that right, boys! And with me as the top of North Academy, we will not will lose!" Snotlout yelled. "All right… let's go this, Slacker. Let's see what you got, Hiccup!"

"With pleasure, Snotlout!" Hiccup shot back.

"No, the pleasure will be all mine, because you're goin' down!"

"DUEL!" They both yelled as their duel disks whirred to life.

Snotlout: 4000

Hiccup: 4000

"SNOTLOUT! SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI! BRING HIM DOWN Snotlout!"

"Ask and you shall receive!" Snotlout drew his first card, "For my first move, I'm gonna summon a monster with some bite. Rise, Masked Dragon!" He commanded, placing a card sideways onto his disk.

From a burst of light, a large dragon with a long neck and big wings appeared in a defensive curl. Most of its body was covered in white scales, but the underbelly was covered in red scales. As for the name, the face looked like was a covered by a mask. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 1100)

"That'll do for now…"

"Not when you see what I got, Snotluot," Hiccup drew his card, "Just what I wanted! I play Dragon Knight Fanghook in attack mode!"

He smiled as his young crimson armoured knight appeared in a burst of flame. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 800)

"Actually, I should say slayer mode, 'cause that's what he's gonna do to that Dragon!" Hiccup declared as Fanghook slammed a flaming uppercut with his maze at Masked Dragon dead on, sending it screeching all the way to the Graveyard.

"Awesome!" Fishlegs cried, "Hiccup's just taken the lead!"

Snotlout smirked at the Slifer's words, "Nuh-uh… he's taken the bait!"

"Uh oh…" Hiccup knew this was going to be either very interesting, or very bad.

"I activate my Masked Dragon's special ability!" Snotloutd declared, "When he's destroyed in battle, I can summon a Dragon-Type monster with 1500 or fewer attack points from my deck, and I have just the one! See for yourself… c'mon out, Armed Dragon LV3!"

At that command, a small dragon with orange and brown scaly armour, wings coming out of its back, sharp little teeth, and a set of spikes in its chest appeared, with a small roar. Everyone in the North section cheered as it came to the field. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 900)

"A Level monster?" Fishlegs looked at his friends for an answer.

Astrid nodded, "Yeah, and I bet LV3 is the lowest, and if Snotlout plays this right, it'll get a lot bigger!"

"Not good," Heather muttered.

"I can't help but wonder where Snotlout could've gotten that monster," Speedfist mused.

Stoick gasped at the Armed Dragon, "isn't that one of your scores top cards?" He then looked at Mogadon. "Mogadon you didn't?"

"I did what I had to do…" said Mogadon, with a proud smirk. "Your representative is done for!"

"Don't count my boy out just yet," said Stoick crossing his arms.

Hiccup looked at Snotlout's new monster. "Not a bad move, Snotlout. I can't wait to see what else you've got!"

Snotlout smirked, "Don't worry, you'll have a front row seat."

"Well, until then," Hiccup looked at his hand and inserted a card into his disk. "I'm throwing down a facedown and end my turn." A single face down appeared.

"Great, now I can start ending you!" Snotlout drew his next card, "You see Hiccup, during my Standby Phase, Armed Dragon's effect activates. By sacrificing his LV3 form," he paused and placed the LV3 card into his slot, "I can summon Armed Dragon LV5 right to the field!"

"Say what?!"

"Now then… let's go ahead and get to it shall we?!" Snotlout watched as his small dragon disappeared into a beam of light, "Armed Dragon LV5, rise!" He cried as a much larger dragon with dark red and black scales, and bigger claws and fangs appeared in its place. While everything looked similar, one of the major differences was that instead of one set of spikes in its body, there were three of them now, the jagged metal teeth poking outward. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700)

"Be careful Hiccup!" Speedfist yelled out, "By levelling up, Armed Dragon's power has substantially increased, and he was plenty powerful before!"

Hiccup whistled, "that's quite the monster you've got. But then, so is my Trap card, Gronckle Shield! I'll use this and equip it to Fanghook!"

Suddenly a circular shield appeared in Fanghhook's hands.

"Now, monsters with 1900 or more attack points, can't attack!" Hiccup explained, "Them's the breaks!"

Snotlout laughed coldly, "You want breaks? I'll give you breaks, Hiccup. Because even with that Hero Ring shield out, Armed Dragon LV5 is gonna crush your creature!"

Hiccup blinked, "How?"

"His special ability, that's how! You see, by discarding a monster to the Graveyard, I can destroy a monster of yours if it's attack points or equal or lower than the monster's I tossed!"

"Not good."

"Indeed, because by sending Flying Kamakiri #1 who has 1400 ATK to the Graveyard…"

"Any monster under a certain number of attack points!?" said Heather.

"And that means Hiccup's Fanghook will be in big trouble!" Fishlegs realized.

"He has the same number attack point as Kamakiri!" Ragnar added.

"Great, just perfect," said Hiccup.

"Go, Armed Dragon LV5, Shrapnel Blast!"

Everyone watched as the spikes on Armed Dragon's back shot outward like a volley of missiles and rained down upon Fanghook, blowing him away.

Snotlout cackled, "And that's just his ability! Time for his direct attack: Inferno Roar!"

Armed Dragon let out a fierce roar that made the walls vibrate as spinning blades that glowed red shot out of its body and slammed into Hiccup, knocking him into the air. Hiccup landed hard on the platform, wincing as he rolled to a stop.

Snotlout: 4000

Hiccup: 1600

Snotlout scoffed at Hiccup's form, "So that's Duel Academy's best, huh?"

"That was a large hit," said Heather.

Hiccuphopped up from his spot on the ground, dusting himself off. "Nice hit, Snotlout, but now I'm gonna pay you back in double."

"Whatever," Snotlout inserted a card into his disk, "I'll place one card facedown and end my turn!"

Spitlout smiled as he sat alongside Slimelout, both of them watching their little brother.

"Finally, he's starting to act like a Jorgenson!"

"True," Slimelout snickered, "I just hope he doesn't win too fast!"

"Huh?" Spitlout turned to him, confused.

Slimelout smiled, turning to look at his brother, "The longer he thrashes this kid, the more we make in commercial revenues!"

Both brothers turned back to the duel, laughing at their plan of personal gain.

Hiccup drew his card. "I'll by activating Pot of Greed!" he said revering his Spell Card. "This allows me to draw two extra cards!"

He drew two more cards and nodded, "Now I'll use one of them: Polymerization! I'll fuse Windshear, Hookfang and Meatlug who's in my hand!" The muscular knight, the husky female knight and the silver female knight fused together. Then a silver red warrior with clawlike hands appeared on the field. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600)

"All right, you've got him now Hiccup," said Fishlegs.

Snotlout narrowed his eyes.

"Berserker attack the Armed Dragon with Berserker Claw," Hiccup commanded. Berserker showed his claws and charged at Armed Dragon. "Oh, and by the way he gained 500 attack point when he attacked a monster."

A flaming red or appeared around Berserker as he got closer towards Snotlout's dragon. (ATK: 2800-3300)

He then sliced right through the Armed Dragon with his razor-like claws.

Snotlout: 3100

Hiccup: 1600

Snotlout lowered his arm after the blast, "Thanks for that! It lets me play my Trap!" He pushed a button on his disk and his facedown card flipped up, "Call of the Haunted! Tell me, Hiccup, do you believe in ghosts? If you don't, then you're about to, because this Trap card allows me to summon any monster from my Graveyard, and I bet you know which one I'm gonna pick!"

"Oh great…" Ragnar muttered.

"Armed Dragon LV5, rise once more!"

From the floor, pieces of rubble flew upward as the large Dragon monster came back to its master's side, letting out another roar. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700)

"SNOTLOUT! SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!" his fans screamed from behind, "SHOW NO MERCY!"

Hiccup felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek, "Well, I guess all I can do is place this card facedown and hope for the best."

' _Go ahead, Slacker_ ,' Snotlout thought, smirk firmly on his face, ' _Cause with what I have planned for you, not even your best will help you!_ '

"Get ready for me to mop this low-rent Duel Academy floor with you, Hiccup!" Snotlout taunted as he drew his next card, "I could attack your monster, but to avoid your face down, I'm using Armed Dragon's special ability. I'll discard Despair from the Dark to the Graveyard and since it had 2800 attack points, your mad knight is about to say good night!" He pointed to the Knight, "Now, Armed Dragon, destroy Hero Tornado with Shrapnel Blast!"

Once again, the spikes from Armed Dragon's back shot out of its hide and flew towards the wind hero.

"Not so fast! I play the Spell card De-Fusion!" Hiccup shouted, "Quick, Berserker, de-fuse!"

At the last second before the missiles blasted the platform, Windshear, Hookfang and Meatlug separated and dodged them all, and kneeled in defence position. (ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200) (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000) (ATK:1300/ DEF: 2000)

Snotlout shook his head, "Doesn't matter, my Armed Dragon still can attack! Armed Dragon, Inferno Roar!"

For the second time, the arena's walls vibrated as three separate glowing red blades flew through the air and hit Windshear, cutting the Knight into pieces effortlessly. Hiccup groaned as silver Knight was slain.

"Now, to take this duel to the next level!" Snotlout's smirk became bigger and bigger.

"WHAT?!" Everyone gasped.

"When Armed Dragon LV5 destroys in battle, I can upgrade my Armed Dragon from level 5 to level 7! Won't you join me in welcoming the ultimate and the all-powerful…" Snotlout threw his arms into the air, "The almighty Armed Dragon LV7!"

This newest Dragon was like the previous two, but again, nothing like either of them. It still had the basic similarities in scale colour, but the spikes on the body were now blades, sharper, longer, and incredibly sharp looking fangs. One of the few differences was that this monster was so large, it now stood behind the platform that Snotlout was standing. Another was that its wings were now completely made of metal, and it had a longer neck. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000)

Hiccup looked up at the monster as Snotlout's fans chanted their favourite's name over and over.

"Okay… this isn't getting any easier by one bit."

Slimelout frowned at the sight of the newest Dragon, "That's strange… that monster wasn't in the suitcase I gave Snotlout."

"What?!" Spitelout looked at him, "Are you sure?!"

"Positive!" Slimelout nodded.

Stoick glared at Foster, who was chuckling at the progress of the duel. The Duel Academy Chancellor got to his feet again, "C'mon, son! Show them what you've got!"

Snotlout looked back to his crowd of fans, "Show him how to cheer, boys!"

"SNOTLOUT! SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!"

The praise from his fans made Snotlout laugh. He loved this so much, being the one with respect for once. He turned back to Hiccup, smirking, "Aw, what's wrong?" he taunted to the silent Hiccup, "You're not so talkative anymore, are ya? You don't have anything to say, Hiccup?"

"This is definitely our greatest duel yet," Hiccup acknowledged. "I haven't been on the ropes like this that much." He looked towards Snotlout. "You definitely are as good as you claim to be."

"You're pitiful Hiccup," Snotlout shook his head, "Jumping around like a fool. That's why you'll never be a champion! You see, it takes discipline to win! You have to have a sense of duty! You have to have some kind of plan! I have a sense of duty, I have a plan, and that's why I'm going to beat you, Hiccup! That's why I'll beat anyone in my way! I can conquer anyone, you hear that?! I CAN CONQUER THE WHOLE WORLD!" He screamed.

"He's lost it…" Fishlegs muttered, getting nods from most of the group.

"Did even have it to begin with?" Ragnar added.

Hiccup stared at him, a little nervous, "Okay… well, if you don't mind," Hiccup drew his next card, "Can I take my turn first?"

"Make it quick!"

"Fine, chill… I'll summon out Dragon Knight Druid in defence mode!" Then the old druid appeared. (ATK: 500/DEF: 1100) "And I'll throwdown this facedown and end my turn. Quick enough for ya?"

"Not bad, but downright sluggish compared to how quick my dragon's gonna take out all your monsters. Watch this. I'm using my Armed Dragon's special ability. Now, by discarding a monster from my hand, all monsters you have out with equal or fewer attack points are automatically destroyed."

"That's not good."

"Oh no! That'll leave Hiccup wide open," Astrid noted.

"That is one impressive special power," Wolflegs commented.

"I discard X-Head Cannon to the graveyard, so all your monsters with 1800 or less attack points will be completely wiped out. Go, Serrated Sonic Disk. Destroy!" The powerful dragon's underbelly glowed blue, and then shot out twin disks of blue energy which struck down all three of Hiccup's monsters.

"Hiccup! No!" Fishlegs cried.

"Come on, son," said Stoick.

"SNOTLOUT! SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!" Snotout's fans cried.

"Since you destroyed my Druid I get a Dragon Knight for my graveyard and places in my hand and I'll choose Dragon Knight Windshear," said Hiccup as he placed Windshear in his hand.

"As if all manner, you Duel Academy stooge" Snotlout spat. "This duel is over! It's time for you to lose. LV 7 Armed Dragon attack Hiccup directly with Dragon Talent Terrie!"

Armed Dragon raised his claw and everyone gasped as it headed straight towards Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

Snotlout and his brothers laughed as the armed Dragon's Caw got closer and closer towards Hiccup.


	26. The School Duel Part 2

Hiccup what does the Armed Dragon's claw raced straight towards him.

"Go! Dragon Talon Terror!" Snotluot yelled as the red and black dragon raised its arm and swung it towards Hiccup.

"Don't think so Snotlout, I got a trap! Dragon knight Reinforcements!" Hiccup's trap flipped up, holding off the Armed Dragon's attack. "Now I look at the top card of my deck and if it's a monster, I can summon it."

Snotlout watched as Hiccup drew his card and smiled. "And what you know it is, Dragon Knight's Scaldy!" Everyone watched as a water-based knight appeared on the field in defence mode. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000). "Oh, and since he is the only card in my field I could to draw two extra cards."

Snotlout growled as Hiccup drew two extra cards and watched as he Armed Dragon's attack continued and crushed the knight.

"Not bad, slacker. But it'll take a lot more than that to beat my Armed Dragon. And a lot more than any pathetic monster you have in your deck. Face it Hiccup, you're toast."

Hiccup drew and close his eyes. "I pass."

"He what?" everyone gasped.

"He didn't play a single monster?" said Astrid stunned.

"He didn't even play a facedown card," said Fishlegs.

"But doesn't he have that Windshear card in his hand?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah, why didn't he play that?" Ruffnut.

"There's one thing I know about Hiccup is that he doesn't give up," said Ragnar as he looked at the field. "He's planning something."

"I agree, but I can't think of what," said Wolflegs.

"What do you mean?" Syrus asked, looking confused.

"That all you can do?" Snotlout taunted. "Always thought you were useless!"

"That just shows how awesome you are, Boss!" said Ojama Yellow as he appeared next to Snotlout's head.

"Get lost!" Snotluot shot back. "If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you. You got that!"

"I got it, Boss," he answered dejectedly. "Sorry."

Toothless appeared next to Hiccup. "Hey Hiccup," the Slifer gave him his attention. "Take a look behind Snotlout."

Hiccupdid just that and indeed, he saw a small little yellow creature hovering behind Snotlout. "Snotlout's has got a duel spirit?" He was quite stunned and then shook his head and looked at Snotlout. "So Snotlout, who's you're little friend?"

"It's nothing!" Snotlout responded, at the same time as he frantically grabbed at the yellow spirit monster. "Just a figment of your imagination. Nothing to see here. No duel spirits at all. Leave me alone!" He finally caught the spirit between his hand and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Back to business, it's my turn. And your monster's turn to get blasted. Armed Dragon LV 7, attack. With Dragon Talon Terror." The mighty dragon raised its arm and slammed it straight towards Hiccup.

"I actually the effect of Dragon Knight Sharpshot from my hand," said Hiccup. "You see I can summon him straight to the field when you attack me directly." Then the young knight appeared on the field in a defensive position. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200) "Oh, and if that wasn't enough your turn automatically comes to an end.

Snotlout growled. "You're only delaying the inevitable."

"We'll see," said Hiccup as he drew his card. "And now I activate Spell Card, Lightning Vortex!"

"What the?!" Snotlout took a step back.

"That's right!" Hiccup grinned, "By discarding a card to the Graveyard, I can activate this Spell card and destroy all face up monster on my opponent's side of the field!"

A large, bolt of lightning erupted from the Spell card Hiccup played and collided with Snotlout's Armed Dragon, completely obliterating him. All that was left was a large shockwave of smoke as the Spell resolved.

"No way…" Snotlout glared at Hiccup through the smoke, "It can't be!"

"Oh it be, all right," Hiccup shot back, "Now, you be in some big time trouble, because your best monster is off the field, and you're all alone on it!"

"All right, now that's how you take down behemoth like that," Ragnar cheered.

"Way to play, Hiccup! Now, follow through and take it to Snotlout's Life Points!" Fishlegs yelled.

"You got it, Legs! And now I'll summon my Dragon Knight Windshear!" The silver female knight appeared once again on the field, but this time she was in attack mode. (ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200) "Now attack Snotlout directly!"

Windshear charged at Snotlout and sliced her blades at him. Snotluot was knocked on his back from the impact.

Snotlout: 1200

Hiccup: 1600

"Looks like it's another win for Duel Academy

Mogadon growled and turned back to the duel, "Not yet!" he shot out of his seat, "SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!" he screamed.

"SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI! SNOTLOUT GET UP!"

Spitlout's eye twitched as Snotlout's cheering section started up again.

"Slimelout, what does Snotlout think he's doing?! We've given Snotout the best duelling cards in the world, but he's not using them!"

"It's… my… turn…" Snotlout panted as he slowly climbed to his feet from the blow, and then drew his card, "I play… a Spell card. The Graveyard in the Fourth Dimension! This baby lets me take two monsters outta my Graveyard, and shuffle them right into my deck," he reached down at grabbed the two mentioned cards, "Sure, they have to be a certain kind of monster, but it's just the kind I need,"

' _That means_ …' Hiccup thought as Snotlout held up the cards.

"My Armed Dragons!" Snotlout smirked, "Also, it just so happens I happen to have another one in my hand as well!" He placed one of the cards onto his disk, "I summon the Armed Dragon LV3!"

"SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!"

Snotlout smirked wider as his small Dragon came back in attack mode (ATK: 1200/DEF: 900), "Now attack his Sharpshot!" he roared. His Armed Dragon then dealt a massive punch at Sharpshot destroying him. "Now, Hiccup's about to be all washed up!" he laughed as he placed one card facedown behind the Armed Dragon.

"Hiccup needs to destroy that monster and quick," Heather noted.

Even though he was taunted his opponent, Snotlout's mind was set on winning this duel.

' _I have to win this. I can't let my brothers down!_ ' He thought as images of his brothers filled his head.

"World Domination is in our grasp!"

"You have to be Duel Monsters' best!"

Snotlout turned to the audience to see both Spitlout and Sliemlout sitting a few yards away, looking at him intently.

"I'm trying!" He yelled.

"Uh… trying what?" Hiccup asked, confused by the sudden change in behaviour in his opponent, "Midgard to Snotlout…" he followed Snotlout's line of sight to see the two men in dark suits, "Oh yeah… Snotlout's brothers…"

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs called out to his best friend.

"You gotta turn this duel around, Hiccup! You gotta show everyone what's up!" Ragnar yelled.

"That's it!" Hiccup nodded, understanding what he had to do, "I gotta win this duel. I gotta show Snotlout what duelling's really about!" Hiccup drew his card, "All right... Windshear, attack that Armed Dragon with Steel Slice!"

Windshear jumped into the air, and then quickly descended down onto the Armed Dragon with her blades. The Dragon exploded, leaving Snotlout's field wide open.

Snotlout: 400

Hiccup: 1600

"Thanks for that," Snotlout waved the smoke away and pressed a button on his disk, "I play my facedown card, the Trap known as the Grave of Enkindling! Since a monster was destroyed in battle, we both can go through our Graveyards and summon a monster to the field in defence mode," he looked at his Graveyard slot, "I think I'm gonna use another Armed Dragon… and this one is LV5!" The LV 5 version of the dragon returned, shielding with his arms. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700)

Fishlegs groaned, "Grave of Enkindling made that way too easy! Isn't there a drawback to using it?"

"If I recall correctly," Speedfist rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "The rules state that the resurrected monster must stay in defence mode. But that's a mood point, after all, with LV5's special ability of discarding a monster from his hand and destroying a monster with equal or fewer attack points that, Snotlout could gain the upper-hand again."

Snotlout glared at Hiccup, waiting for the Trap to take effect with him as well, "What are you waiting for? Resurrect, take a monster out of your Graveyard! But, I should warn you, it'll be a round trip!"

"Oh I'm not is bringing back one monster," said Hiccup smirking.

"Please, what are you talking about?" said Snotlout. "That Grave of Enkindling only allows you to bring one monster back."

"What's he planning?" said Speedfist puzzled.

"I bring back Dragon Knight Smidvarg from the Graveyard," said Hiccup as young knight in dragon-like white armour appeared on the field. (ATK: 500/ DEF: 900)

"What the!?" Snotlout gasped.

"Where did that come from?" said Spitlout.

"He wasn't in your Graveyard, Hiccup!"

Hiccup smirked. "Think again…"

Snotlout then remembered Hiccup had discard one card activated Lightning Vortex Spell Card. "Oh, yeah."

"And like I said, it's not just him, because whenever Smidvarg is special summon from the Graveyard, just like when he did with that Grave of Enkindling, well, Snotlout, I get a call out all the copies of Smidvarg from my deck."

Snotlout watched as two more Smidvarg appeared on the field. "And with that I'll end my turn."

Snotlout chuckled, "I see what you're doing, Hiccup. You biplane free monsters, I'll have to discard three cards to destroy them right?" he held up his hand, "You wish. I don't have to discard two cards, because I only have to play one!"

"I don't like the sound of that…" Fishlegs whimpered.

"Play one card!?" Stoick frowned, "What could it be!?"

"All right, here I go," Snotlout drew his card and grinned, "I play the Spell card Level Up!"

Hiccup gulped as the Spell card appeared, "Uh oh…"

Snotlout grinned, "Judging from the look on your face you know what this card does, but I'll explain anyway. This card lets me level up a monster and I choose…" he pointed to his own, "My Armed Dragon LV5! With this Spell card, I'll upgrade him from LV5 to LV7!" he laughed.

And once again, the LV5 Armed Dragon disappeared and its towering counterpart filled its space, letting out a low, deep growl as it looked down at the opposing side of the field. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000)

"Yes!" Spitlout smiled as his little brother made a comeback.

"Yes!" Mogadon pumped a fist in the air as the huge monster returned.

"No!" Wolflegs and Astrid leaned forward in shock shocked, "With that monster out, his ability can destroy all of Hiccup's monsters again!"

"SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI… OOOOIIIII!"

"I've got something I've wanted to tell you for a long time, Hiccup, so listen up!" Snotlout curled his fist, smirking, "I'm about to win and you're about to lose!"

The huge Dragon reared its ugly face, roaring and flexing its shiny claws in the arena's light. The camera crews circled the platform, the film still going.

"That's it, keep it baby! Remember, the camera loves ya!"

Snotlout glanced at the director, "Then keep it rolling, because you haven't seen anything yet!" He turned back to Hiccup. "Next I'll throw the Equip Spell Card Armed Changer! Now by simply discarding another Equip Spell Card for my hand to the graveyard I can activate this baby and equip it to my Dragon!"

Snotlout disguise the card from his hand and at once and knuckle duster with reels on it appeared in Armed Dragon's claw.

"Now Armed Dragon attack!" Snotlout commanded. "Dragon Driller!"

Armed Dragon spun his arm so fast it was a blur and then slammed it right on top of Windshear destroying her instantly. The explosion slammed into Hiccup.

Snotlout: 400

Hiccup: 700

"And now Armed Changes effect activates," said Snotlout. "See, when he takes down a monster in battle it allows me to bring a monster back for my grave to my hand, just so long as it doesn't have more attack points than the monster it destroyed."

He then grabbed his Mask Dragon from his Graveyard. "And I think I'll bring back Mask Dragon. But he won't be around for long, because now I'm going to use Armed Dragon LV 7's special ability."

He then send Mask Dragon back into his graveyard.

"Oh, man," said Fishlegs.

"This should be good," said Spitlout.

"That ability will send Mask Dragon to the Graveyard and then crash any beast with less attack points," said Wolflegs.

"Now Armed Dragon trounce those triplets, Serrated Sonic Discs!" Snotlout yelled.

Armed Dragon roared as razor sharp discs shot out of his chest and slammed right into Hiccup Smidvargs destroying them instantly.

Snotlout laughed. "Looks like your Smidvargs just got trounced." He then smirked that Hiccup as the cameras during closer. "Tell you what, if you surrender now, I promise I won't embarrass you on global TV!" He pointed to the camera crews, "Oh wait, I already did!"

Ragnar frowned as Snotlout continued to laugh, "It's not that funny…"

Stoick looked at his son, "Come on, son, don't give up!"

"Who's giving up?" Hiccup smiled, ""I'm having way too much fun to give up! After all…" He turned to Snotlout and looked him straight in the eyes, "That's what duelling's all about! Win or lose, because you'll be having fun all the time!"

Snotlout scoffed, "Oh gag me!"

"It's true!" Hiccup smiled, "If I can have fun losing, shouldn't you have fun winning? It's not that hard… despite whatever your brothers may have told you."

"What do you know about my brothers!?" Snotlout snapped at him.

"For starters, Snotlout, I know they're the ones you're duelling for…" Hiccup glanced at the two other Jorgensons in the audience, "And I know how much pressure they've put on you to win this duel."

Snotlout only growled, but that was loud enough for Hiccup to hear him.

"C'mon, Snotlout," Hiccup looked back at him, "Remember when you used to duel for fun? The excitement of it?"

"I only duel to win, slacker…"

"Well, let's see where that gets ya," said Hiccup as he drew his card. "But I activate the effect of my Smidvargs."

"What?" Snotlout gasped.

"By removing my three copies of Smidvarg from the game I can grab one Dragon Knight from my deck and place it in my hand and the card I'm choosing is Dragon Knight Alpha Toothless." Hiccup removed his Smidvargs from his Graveyard and look through his deck for his ritual monster.

Storm clouds began to form above Hiccup's head and a sword fell down right in front of him.

"Now I play the Ritual Spell Card, Offspring of Lightning and Death now I sacrifice Dragon Kinght's Stormfly and Belch, whose total levels are above eight in order to summon Dragon Knight Alpha Toothless!"

Stormfly and Belch appeared alongside Hiccup and instantly turned into bolts of lightning. Hiccup grabbed the sword and was instantly struck by a bolt of lightning and when the smoke cleared he stood there in Dragon Knight Armour. (ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2400)

Snotlout just stared completely speechless at the site.

"Time to end this, because now Alpha Toothless will attack Armed Dragon with Supreme Dragon Sword!" Hiccup yelled before he charged that Armed Dragon.

"Snotlout is gonna lose!" the camera director cried, seeing the Hiccup raising his sword at the Armed Dragon, "Cut the camera feed, cut the transmission!"

Everywhere TV's were showing the duel, and millions of people watched in excitement. That is, until the duel was stopped and instead, a newswoman with short hair appeared on screen, a nervous look on her face.

"Uh… hello, we interrupt this duel to bring you a special new bulletin to tell you all that… everything is fine!"

Everyone that was watching either cursed, moaned, or threw stuff in anger that such a good duel was cut off before it was ended.

"No!" Snotlout shouted as Hiccup brought his sword down on top of Armed Dragon and seeing him explode.

Snotlout: 200

Hiccup: 700

"All right, Hiccup just took out the Armed Dragon with just one attack!" Fishlegs cried.

"And the assault is not over yet, Fishlegs," Speedfist added. "Alpha Toothless still has a special ability, it comes next."

"Yeah, and it's really gonna burn Snotlout, his Life Points now take damage equal to his destroyed monsters attack points, 2800," said Astrid.

"No!" Snotlout yelled at his Life Points began to drop.

Snotlout: 0

Hiccup: 700 (Winner)

Duel Academy cheered as Snotlout fell to his knees.

"I guess that that and it was a good match," said Hiccup as his armour faded.

Snotlout was about to look up when he noticed two pairs of black shoes enter his sight. He looked away slightly, knowing who it was that joined him.

"You loser! You dog! You've disgraced yourself, and you've disgraced the Jorgensons family!"

"You are no brother of ours anymore."

Snotlout looked at them, "Please…" He panted. "Give me another chance."

"Another chance!?" Slimelout repeated, "You know how much we've spent on this duel!?"

"The cameras, the rare cards, none of which you used I might add!" Spitlout barked.

"I'm sorry…" Snotlout kept his head low, "I thought I could win this duel by myself…"

Slimelout growled, reached down, grabbed his ex-brother's coat collar and lifted him clear off the ground, "Yourself!?"

"When could you do anything by yourself?!" Spitlout screamed, about to raise a fist on Snotlout.

"Wrong!" Hiccup's voice boomed over the arena as his friends joined him. "There's one fight he did win… his fight between you two. Sure, Snotluot may not have won the duel, but at least he falling on his own terms. It's like he said, he used his cards not what your money could buy."

"He's right," said Spitelout as he got up onto the stage. "In my books it was the two of you that shamed our family. Snotlout duelled on his own terms and didn't rely on you two for help."

Slimelout released Snotlout, reluctantly and Hiccup looked at him. "That was a tough duel, Snotlout. I know it's cheesy, but I think the truth of it is that we both won here."

"You're just saying that," Snotlout grumbled. "I mean come on… nobody else believes that."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Hiccup.

Snotlout looked up and heard the entire stadium yelling from both North Academy and Duel Academy, "SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!"

Slimelout and Spitlout looked all around them, taking in the screaming.

Spitlout growled and turned to his brother, "C'mon, we don't have time for this…" He turned and headed towards the arena's exit, Slimelout following close behind him as the students in the arena continued to chant.

* * *

Later that evening, as the sun began to set, Snotlout stood on a small cliff, watching his brother's helicopters fly off into the distance. He was no longer a Jorgenson in his brother's eyes. Though he was still one in his father's as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

' _Guess there's one last matter I have to settle…_ ' He thought as he headed back towards the docks where his North Academy friends and his former classmates of Duel Academy were waiting for him.

Hiccup was shaking hands with Thuggory.

"I have to say that was one awesome duel as were those cards," said Thuggory.

"I'm just sorry we didn't get a chance to duel," said Hiccup smiling.

"Maybe next time," Thuggory shrugged. He then pulled Hiccup in closer and looked at Astrid's direction. "And that's quite the girlfriend you've got."

Hiccup face turned pink. "She's not—I'm not—"

"Only messing with you, but seriously you should take out," said Thuggory.

Fortunately for Hiccup, he was saved by the arrival of Snotlout. "Well, Snotlout… I guess this is goodbye."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Snotlout. A collection of horrified gasps made Snotlout look over his shoulder to his North Academy comrades, "Look guys. I'm sorry, but I don't belong with you."

Thuggory nodded. "I can't say I'm not surprised."

"You sure you want to stay?" Mogadon asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he looked over his shoulder to the headmaster, "If Chancellor Stoick will have me back, that is."

Stoick smiled warmly, "Well, you were one of our best duellists… how could I possibly refuse?"

Mogadon nodded and looked at his former Champion, "I guess it's time we got going, then. Good luck, Snotlout."

After a rather tearful goodbye and chants of "Oi, oi, oi!" from North Academy students as their submarine drifted away, Stoick looked ay Snotlout.

"Snotlout, about you coming back, there's something that we have to talk about."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Gobber?"

Gobber weaved his way to Snotlout through the other students, "Since you dropped out of Duel Academy and are returning, you are technically a new student. For that, you must start from the bottom at Slifer Red."

Snotlout looked both shocked and horrified, "What?! Slifer!?"

Gobber nodded, "Yes, welcome! We'll get you fitted for a blazer when we return to the dorm, then we'll get you settled in with a roommate…"

"No! This has to be a nightmare!" Snotlout yelled.

"I hope you like cockroaches," said Fishlegs.

"Cockroaches?!"

Hiccup grinned, "There's only a few of them. Besides, it's mainly the rats ya gotta worry about."

"Rats?!" Snotlout turned back to the sea, "I changed my mind! Take me back! I wanna come back!"

Laughing, Hiccup turned to the others, "Guys, how about we give Snotlout the Slifer Cheer?"

"I don't want it!" Snotlout snapped, turning and glaring at them all.

"S-L-I-F-E-"

"Can't we just stick with Oi,oi,oi'!?" Snotlout begged.

"NO!" Everyone yelled before closing in on Snotlout for a huge group hug. Snotlout groaned and sank to the ground, tugging at his hair, "My new family's already dysfunctional!"

Everyone laughed at Snotlout misfortune.

* * *

Dragon Knight Smidvarg

ATK: 500/ DEF: 900

3 Stars

DARK

Warrior/ effect

This card is treated as a Drago-Type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. When this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon any number of "Dragon Knight Smidvarg"(s) from your Deck. You can remove and play three copies of Smidvarg from your graveyard to select any "Dragon Knight" monster card in your deck and add it to your hand.


	27. Grave Risk Part 1

Fishlegs was wandering through the campus later the evening, he just been to the library to study on a subject that he was having trouble with, he was planning to go back to the dorm, but he had a desperate urge to go to the bathroom. He approached the door and turned the knob opening it. He soon realised that he had entered where teachers office.

Blinking, Fishlegs rubbed his head, "Oh man, this isn't the bathroom." He was about to close the door when he heard a strange sound coming from the desk. He rubbed his eyes some more and saw that Banner was sitting in front of a computer monitor, his back to the open door.

"You are not here to ask why, you are here to obey."

Banner shifted in his seat, "But Hiccup is one of our best students, and he could be buried alive!" He protested to the strange voice.

Fishlegs stood there, "Buried?" he whispered.

"If the tomb shall be the end of Hiccup Haddock, then so be it. His true potential must be tested!"

Fishlegs quickly and quietly closed the door, and then backed away, scared of what he just heard, and all before the identity of the other two.

' _Tested? In a tomb? Where he could be buried alive?! Something tells me this test isn't mid-terms…_ ' he thought before quietly running up the stairs to his bed, no longer needing to go to the bathroom after such news.

* * *

The next morning, the gang was in Banner's alchemy class.

"So you see, children, we can learn a great duel from alchemy that applies to duelling," Banner went on, standing by his desk with two different vials with multi-coloured liquid in his hands. Pharaoh lay comfortably in his master's chair.

Banner held up the vials, "Just as we can fuse two monsters to create a more powerful monster, we can mix two compounds and make something equally impressive," he poured one of the liquids into the large vial and shook it gently, "You see, it's rather very-AH!"

The vials exploded, sending a large cloud of smoke into the air. Banner waved his hand, coughing as he made the smoke go away from his face, which was now smudged from the smoke, "On the other hand… it can be equally devastating…" he coughed before falling on his rear end.

Hiccup had a small smirk on his face from Banner's little explosion as the ringing of the bell signalled the end of the class.

"I was a very riveting class," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, we learned how to duck," said Fishlegs quietly.

"And that Banner is terrible at mixing chemicals," Ragnar added.

Banner brushed himself off as he rose to his feet, "Oh, I almost forgot! I'm… uh… planning a little field trip," he held up a pile of papers, most likely schedules.

"A field trip?" Hiccup perked up with curiosity. "Where to?"

Banner smiled, "We are going to take a ten mile hike all the way to the excavated ruins, where we will be taking geologic core samples! Saturday at 7:00 AM, so don't be late!"

* * *

And so, Banner's class arrived in the meeting spot outside the Academy, ready for the field trip. However, it wasn't the results Banner had really wanted. While not many of the class came, all of the ones who came, including Banner, had a backpack with them, filled with food and supplies while one had a basket.

Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar, Fishlegs and Heather were the only ones who came.

Banner frowned, "Only five of you? Is that all? Where is everyone else?"

Fishlegs yawned, "It's early in the morning, Professor… they're probably back in their dorms, in their nice, warm beds," he turned to Ragnar, "Probably enjoying the company of their soft pillows."

"We probably would have stayed there too if Banner hadn't threaten us with detention…" Ragnar muttered.

"Personally, I can't wait to see these ruins," said Hiccup.

"I know what you mean, I'm looking forward to this," said Heather.

"I know, I'm excited too," Astrid told her best friend. "These ruins we're going into used to host the Shadow Games."

"Then maybe will find clues to your brother there," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, that's kinda what I'm hoping for."

Banner continued to address the students, "Now, before we advance anymore, I must warn you children. When we enter the ruin site, you must be careful. Inside the area, is an ancient tomb. Now, usually…"

Fishlegs drowned out the rest of Banner's lecture once he heard the word 'tomb.' ' _A tomb!?_ ' He then pulled Hiccup to the side, earning a look of confusion from the Dragon Knight duellist. "Listen Hiccup," He whispered. "I think Banner wants to bury you. Last night, he was talking about the tomb and you in it."

"Legs, this must be another chili sauce nightmare." The Dragon Knight duellist waved off. "You're worrying too much"

"All right class, let's move onward to the ruins," said Banner, as every got going.

' _Don't say I didn't warn you…_ ' Fishlegs worriedly thought as he walked after the rest of the party.

* * *

They walked, climbed and called for many hours, but finally they reached the ruins of the far side of the island.

"Oh, look, we're finally here!" said Banner triumphantly he then turned and looked at them. "Isn't it just amazing?"

The others looked directly in front of them, was what looked like a broken archway that was mostly covered in green moss.

"Who knew there were ruins on the island," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, I wonder who built it," said Astrid.

Banner set down his pack and looked around, "it's beautiful!" he tried to hold back his excitement. "You can still see the fated remains of the oculus, oh and the phastigium! No doubt inspired by a meniment of Saka'Ra."

"He sure seems excited to see some rocks," said Fishlegs as they sat down.

"Yeah, while we're at it how about some lunch?" Hiccup suggested.

Banner nodded, "I don't see why not. Afterwards, we can check out the rest of the ruins. Maybe there's some well preserved sarcophaguses around… or is it sarcophagi?" he dropped his bag and looked through it, "Oh well, time to eat for now. I love pizza, I can barely wait,"

Hiccup and the others turned around on their lunch blanket, staring at their professor.

"Pizza?! You get pizza while we're stuck with whatever it is I'm holding?" Hiccup complain holding up a soggy sandwich.

Banner inched himself away from them, holding his sack close, "I'm your teacher, I need pizza for strength so I can teach you properly!" he said defensively.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and joined his friends once again.

"That's funny," Banner murmured, rummaging through his backpack, "I don't remember having a fur-topping on my pizza."

Instead of pulling out his lunch, Banner pulled out a familiar fat cat out of his sack, crumbs around his whiskers. Pharaoh mewed and gave a small belch.

Banner facefaulted, "Pharaoh! You were supposed to stay at home, not hitch a ride in my bag and eat my lunch!" he cried. Banner hung his head in dismay, then slowly turned to his students, looking very humble, "Maybe… you could share you lunch with me, children?" he asked, hands together.

Everyone looked at him, mimicking his squinted eyes look.

"Sorry," Hiccup replied, "But we're your students and we need this to learn!"

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, besides you weren't gonna share, Professor," Ragnar pointed out.

Banner facefaulted again, "But of course, I was going to share!"

"Share what?" Astrid asked, "Pepperoni breath all day?"

While Banner kept trying to score some free food, Pharaoh walked around the area. The fat cat looked around and noticed something sticking out of the dirt. He walked over and dug, shovelling dirt behind him as the object became clearer. It was a large, round disk with symbols carved into it. In the exact middle of the disk, a green gem lay. Pharaoh mewed and prodded the disk.

At the touch of the cat's paw, the green gem began to glow a bright light. Pharaoh shrieked and ran back to his master, while beams of bright green light shot into the sky from the earth.

"What's going on?!" Hiccup watched as more and more beams erupted from the dirt. Everyone else rose to their feet and stood back to back, while Pharaoh leapt into Banner's arms, shaking like a leaf.

"Guys! Look up!" Fishlegs pointed to the sky.

Everyone gazed upward to see the sun split into three separate balls of fire and light.

"Is… anyone else seeing things in triplicate?" Banner asked nervously.

"Don't worry it's not just you," said Ragnar.

Heather's jaw dropped as a veil of different colored lights appeared, moving around them in a circular pattern, "Have to admit I've never had a field trip like this before."

"Something isn't right," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Oh, you mean beside the three sons in the sky," said Ragnar.

A nudge made Hiccup look away from the light to see Toothless standing over his shoulder.

"You guys should probably run," Toothless advised.

As if in response, thunder boomed above them and lightning flashed, making everyone jump out of their skins.

"Everyone, run for cover!" Banner shouted.

Everyone started to run around, trying to find shelter. The lightning and thunder came quicker and quicker each time, making them more frightened.

Banner looked ahead towards a tall building, "We'll find safety in that—" His last word was drowned out by more thunder.

"The what!?" The kids shouted.

Banner pointed to the thing ahead of them, "The building with the hole!" he yelled.

Hiccup stopped and looked at the sky.

"What are you doing?" Ragnar yelled.

"Yeah, this storm's getting worse!" Astrid added, noting the numerous bolts.

Hiccup looked at the others huddled into a hole, hoping the shelter will protect them from the storm. "You guys stay in there! I will lead the storm away!"

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled.

"Where does he think he's going?" said Ragnar.

"He's going nuts," said Fishlegs.

"Have to agree on you on that," said Heather.

Hiccup ran off in the opposite direction, the light from above became brighter and brighter. Then the light blinded him, causing them to black out.

* * *

After the blackout, Hiccup had awakened in a strange place. It looked similar to the ruins, but also, vastly different. In front of him were the ruins that… well, they weren't exactly in ruins anymore. It was very tall pyramid that was standing in perfect condition.

Hiccup had stared in awe at the sight. "I think I took a wrong turn back there…" He muttered.

Toothless nodded his head. "Yeah, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore," he said.

He turned around and found the archway. "Hey, what's that? It looks like the ruins, but it's not… well, ruined. Either this is one crazy dreamer or we've travel back in time."

"Not in time," said Toothless placing a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know how, but somehow we've been transported to a different world."

"Hey!" Hiccup exclaimed, more shocked that he was able to feel Toothless then him actually hitting him. "How'd you do that?"

"We're in another world, genius," he answered sarcastically. "I can turn solid for a short time since there's a lack of duel energy."

"Now that is strange," Hiccup nodded. "But where are the others?"

"Ahem…"

Hiccup turned at the silent cough, and took a defensive stance. He turned to see a black-haired girl, dropping his backpack at her feet.

"This is sacred ground!" The girl told them. "You must leave immediately! You are in very grave danger."

Hiccup gave an uneasy smile. Toothless was gone. Of all the times. "Yeah, I'd be happy to leave. Just as soon as we find everyone else and…"

Hiccup was interrupted as the black-haired girl grabbed him and held him up against the shadows.

"What gives?" Hiccup growled.

"Quiet!" The girl spoke. "The soldiers are coming!"

On cue, a group of footsteps were made on the ramp above the six. They were wearing the same robes as the cloaked people holding the students, but they were armed with spears. Everyone held their voices until they were sure they were gone.

"What's going on here?" Hiccup asked one she let him go.

"There are others who share your dress." The girl replied. "They've been taken by the Gravekeeper Chief. And will be punished for trespassing in his sacred tomb."

"Punished!?" Hiccup gasped. "No way, not on my watch they won't lady. Take me to them, right now."

She just there looking into his eyes and then handed him back his backpacks.

"So be it, you were warned," the girl said as she led them all inside the tomb. "Tell me stranger, by what means to do arrive here?"

"Uh… the name's Hiccup and I don't even know where here is. And I have no idea how I even got here let alone how to get back."

They stopped at an empty room. "You'll wait here."

"No way, I want to see my friends," said Hiccup.

"I will find them," the girls said. "Believe me if you are found walking about, you'll be of no use to them."

"Fine…" he muttered as he sat around and the girl left.

* * *

A certain amount time past and still no sign of her returning, causing Hiccup to tug at his hair, "What is taking her so long?!" he growled. "She ever come back? Wait a sec, what if she's working for this GraveKeeper… that would mean that we're all in big trouble."

"SOMEONE! HELP US!"

The scream of a girl made the Hiccup jumped to his feet.

"Astrid!" Hiccup turned and looked up at the window. ith a well-placed jump and grip, he latched onto the opening and pulled himself up.

Outside the room he was in, was a deep rectangular pit below him. Jason followed suit and leapt as high as he could and looked out the other window. Squinting, they saw five stone coffins in the middle of the pit. Hiccup's eyes widened, seeing that in the coffins were their friends. Each of them had their own coffin, and they were all wrapped with stuff that looked like it came from a mummy.

"That's not good," he said. Then he felt a sharp prodding on his rear end making them pale. They weren't alone anymore.

"Get down!" A deep, gravelly voice ordered.

"Move towards the sharp object, you gonna be kidding?!"Hiccup looked over his shoulder to see a small group of men in white clothes and black cloaks. Some were armed with spears, while others had daggers at their belts. While each of them was a different person, many of them looked the same, save one man. He had dark skin, much like the others, wore a fine robe of white and black with gold embroidery and a thick beard.

"Now," the bearded man hissed, ignoring the outburst.

"Okay, okay!" said Hiccup as he slid down the wall, rubbing his backsides to ease the stinging left by the spears. "Ever hear of a handshake?" That question earned them about half a dozen more spears pointed towards him. Hiccup held up his hands, extremely nervous at the turn of the situation, "I'm so sorry, where are my manners! I'm Hiccup Haddock."

All of the guards had the spears near his neck.

"…And what would your name be?" He asked the bearded man he assumed was the leader.

"I am the Gravekeeper Chief and you have traversed on the sacred tomb that I protect…"

Hiccup gulped, "Hey, that's great, pal! Now, how's about I just go and grab my friends, then we'll just head on out?" He offered. "We'll zip back to the dimension we came from, ya know?"

"That is not possible…"

"Oh… Why not?" Hiccup asked.

The Chief chuckled, "Because fool, you have tread upon my domain and now you will be punished along with your friends."

"Oh c'mon!" Hiccup groaned, getting more and more annoyed every second. "Can't we just pay a fine or something?" Hiccup asked desperately, not liking his odds. It was him against an army. He would lose this quickly.

"You cannot…"

Hiccup pushed the spears away. "Listen, we never meant to come here it was an accident. We don't even know how we got here and we certainly did know that this was sacred ground."

Again, the Chief laughed, "You both show some spirit, Stranger. We will forgive your trespassing… given that you survive my challenge," he offered, "What do you say?"

Hiccup looked at the spears, "Well, what's the challenge?" he shot back, secretly hoping that he didn't have to fight any angry large animals or go through a booby trapped temple.

The Chief smiled and held up a deck of Duel Monster cards as his answer.

"A duel?" said Hiccup surprised in relief as the spears were removed. "Then I accept your challenge! But on one condition, that you set all my friends free if I win! Deal?"

"Agreed," the Chief nodded.

Hiccup opened his pack and pulled out a duel disk from inside his pack, "For my friends, there's no if about it pal," He looked back at the Chief, "I'll win!"

"But, if you lose, you and your friends will be punished. You will be buried alive!" The chief stated.

"Buried alive, huh?" Hiccup asked. "Then it's a good thing I won't lose." He smirked.

The Chief smirked right back. "We shall see…"

* * *

Hiccup now stood at the top of the structure surrounding the pit where his friends and Banner were. He and the Gravekeeper Chief were standing on little extensions that stuck out from opposite walls.

"Good luck Hiccup," said Banner. "We're all rooting for you. Very, very much so."

"Hiccup!" Ragnar and Fishlegs called.

"Come on Hiccup, save us," said Astrid.

"You can do this," said Heather.

Hiccup looked down to the coffins and smiled towards them. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna lose." He looked back to the Chief as they each turned on their disks and drew their opening hands.

Hiccup: 4000

Chief: 4000

"Since you trespassed on my ground, I'll have the first move," The Chief said as he drew his sixth card. "I place a card facedown in defence mode, thus ending my turn," He declared as he placed the mentioned card onto the disk.

"Now it starts mine," Hiccup drew his card and looked at it just as he heard Toothless's voice call out to him.

"Careful Hiccup…" Toothless warned. "We're no longer in our world. Who knows what can happen?"

"Don't worry about a thing," Hiccup eased. "I summon the Dragon Knight Scaldy in attack mode!"

Hiccup smiled as his aqua knight came alive (ATK: 800/DEF: 1100), "And he's got quite the special ability! When he's summoned to the field, and there are no other cards on my field, I can draw two more cards!" he drew his cards, "Awesome…" he moved some of his hand around, "Next, I'll place one card face down on the field and end my turn!"

The Chief drew his card, and then placed it on the disk, "Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" He paused as a man in black robes carrying a long spear appeared in front of him. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1000)

Hiccup noticed that the monster card was identical to some of the men that held him in the room before.

"I hope your Scaldy's draw gave you two very good cards, because he's already outmatched in battle, and soon he will be outnumbered. I now summon, in attack mode, Gravekeeper's Guard!" he waved his arm and the facedown monster from his first turn was revealed to be a fat man with a three-pronged spear. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1900)

For the second time, Hiccup was reminded of some of the men from before.

"His effect," the Chief glanced at his Guard, "Forces one monster that's out to return to its owner's hand. So, I choose Scaldy!"

Multiple red rings emanated from the Guard and spread outward. As soon as the rings touched Scaldy, a beam of red light shot upward and Scaldy returned to Hiccup's hand.

"Now that you are left unguarded, I'll attack you directly!" the Chief pointed to him. "Go, Gravekeeper's Guard! Attack with Blazing Blade Strike!"

The fat man with a spear lifted his three-pronged weapon and flew to Hiccup's side, bringing it down hard across Hiccup's chest.

Hiccup: 3000

Chief: 4000

Hiccup yelped and his hand went to his shoulder, "I felt that…" he looked over to Toothless, who was standing behind him with a shocked look on his face. "This is real!" They both came to the same conclusion a second later.

' _A Shadow Game!_ '

Down below, the lids to the coffins began to slowly close, inch by inch.

Pharaoh mewed and Banner shivered, "Hello! No joke it's real!" the Headmaster of Slifer shouted up to his student.

Astrid, Ragnar, Fishlegs and Heather cringed at the closing of the coffins.

"Now, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, wage your attack!" the Chief ordered his second monster, "Lunging Spear Assault!"

The second Gravekeeper monster let out a battle-cry before jumping to Hiccup's side of the field and jabbing the Slifer in the gut with his spear.

Hiccup: 1500

Chief: 4000

Hiccup again winced after the blow and doubled over.

"Okay… now I get it," he panted, watching the monster return to his master, "This isn't about Life Points, it's about my life!" He stated, confirming his and Toothless' suspicions about the stakes of the game.

The Chief laughed mildly, "Yes," he pointed down at the coffins, which were starting to close up more and more, "And theirs too! You see, for every life point you lose, the coffins start to close!"

Fishlegs whimpered as it became darker in his own coffin, "Guys, I'm claustrophobic! For real!"

"After this I may be claustrophobic too," said Ragnar.

"It's my turn now," Hiccup Hiccup drew his new card. "And I summon Dragon Knight Belch!" The mysterious knight appeared on the field with a mysterious grin on his face. (ATK: 1200/ DEF:1000) "And whenever he summoned I'm allowed to grab Dragon Knight Barf for my deck and place in my hand."

Hiccup look through his deck and grabbed Barf. "Next factory the Spell Card Polymerization and fused together Barf and Belch together to create…" he paused, watching his two knights merge together. "Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman!"

The Chief raised an eyebrow as a large, green and black knight with two swords in each hand. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800)

Hiccup grinned, "Did my Scaldy give me two good cards? Well, see for yourself because from both of them, came him," he waved his arm to the Spear Soldier, "And this next attack!"

The Spear Soldier yelled as he was sliced to pieces by Twin Swordsman's sword, causing him to explode. Groaning, the Chief covered his head from the backfire wave as his points went down.

Hiccup: 1500

Chief: 3100

"Don't think you're outta the woods yet!" Hiccup smirked some more. "Because Twin Swordsman is able to attack twice in one turn!"

The Chief watched as Twin Swordsman slashed his second sword at his Guard and he too exploded. The Chief covered himself as the shockwave hit him.

Hiccup: 1500

Chief: 1600

"It's okay, Hiccup's gonna win this!" said Fishlegs in a shaky voice.

"And with that I'll end my turn," said Hiccup. "The quicker I win this duel, the quicker I can get my friends back!"

The Chief laughed, "All the quicker for them to be sent to their doom,"

Hiccup frowned, "I just know I'll win, that enough for ya? Now c'mon!"

The Chief drew his card and looked at his hand, "First, I'll place one facedown monster in defence mode as well as facedown."

"I guess you don't know the first rule about Duel Monsters," Hiccup commented as he drew his next card, "A good defence is a sweet offense. And who better to teach you rules than Twin Swordsman!" Twin Swordsman charge straight towards the Chief's facedown card.

"I reveal my trap card, Spellbinding Circle!" The trap revealed itself in next second I magic circle wrapped itself around Twin Swordsman.

"Not good," said Hiccup.

"Yes, thanks to my trap your monster can no longer attack or switches barrel position."

"Then the only thing I can do is place Dragon Knight Druid in defence mode," said Hiccup as his elderly druid appeared on the field. (ATK: 500/ DEF: 1100)

The Chief then drew his card. "I activate Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two more cards from my deck!" He picked up two more cards. He held up a spell with the showing a canyon with tall stone walls. "I shall summon Gravekeeper's Assailant in attack mode."

Hiccup watched as a young woman in a long black cloak with a curved dagger appeared on the field. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500)

"And she will be joined by the mysticism of Gravekeeper's Curse," the Chief added. Revealing his facedown monster which was a man dressed in a dark robe with pieces of golden jewellery around his head. He also held a thin blue yellow staff with a circular tip. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 800) "And now I activate the effect of Gravekeeper's Curse, an effect that that will deliver to you 500 points of damage."

Hiccup then watched as Curse's staff began to glow yellow and covered him. He suddenly felt immense pain around his body.

"That sound!" he yelled.

Hiccup: 1000

Chief: 1600

He then watched of the coffins his friends were in began to close. "You have to do better than that."

"Very well then," said the Chief. "Perhaps this card will suffice. I cast, Necrovalley." Their entire surroundings changed from the restored ruins to reflect the image on the card. Vast stone spires rose from the ground, the two duellists now standing on tall rock columns. A layer of mist blanketed the ground below, apart from the area where Hiccup's friends were trapped.

"Uhhh, not good."

"It's not for you, because as long as its activated it will increase the attack and defence points of my Gravekeeper's by 500!"

"What?!" Hiccup's eyes widened, "You're kidding!"

Both Gravekeepers felt right at home as their power increased. (ATK: 1500-2000) (ATK: 800-1300)

"Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack Twin Swordsman!" The Chief ordered.

Hiccup blinked, "What, you got sand in your eyes? Can't you see Twin Swordsman still has more points?" Hiccup's eyes quickly widened. "Unless you got some sorta—"

"Special ability?" the Chief cackled, "Yes, the Assailant does, actually. It allows her to change the battle mode of your Twin Swordsman from attack to defence!"

The Assailant's eyes glowed white and the Twin swordsman was soon surrounded by a purple aura, forcing him to kneel down, with his arms over his chest.

"Just perfect…" Hiccup turned from his monster to the Chief, "Man, you really know how to duel, don't you?"

The Chief nodded, "The best is yet to come, boy. Attack him!" he ordered, pointing to the defending Hero.

With a small grunt, the Assailant flew to Hiccup's side of the field, her knife growing bigger. She appeared behind the Twin Swordsman and backstabbed him. Hiccup cried out as his monster exploded before his eyes.

"And now, my Gravekeeper's Curse will destroy that Druid! Take him down!"

Curse's staff glowed again and then druid exploded.

Hiccup smirked. "When druid is destroyed, I get a Dragon Knight from my Graveyard!"

"You have the wisdom of dirt," the Chief spat at him, "Necrovalley negates that effect!"

"Huh?!"

"Any Spell, Trap, or Monster Effect involving the Graveyard is completely useless! Just as you have proven to be in your effort to save your friends." The Chief laughed out loud, "Don't you see? Both you and your cards are futile here!"

Hiccup looked down at his Duel Disk and groaned.

"No, I refuse to believe that," said Astrid. "I know, Hiccup can find a way."

"Yeah, Hiccup's been worse predicaments, he'll find a way" said Ragnar.

"Oh no, it's no use, we're done for!" Banner moaned.

"That's not true!" Heather shot back at the professor, "Rag's right Hiccup's been through worse!"

"Just look at the field, Hiccup has no monsters out and the Gravekeeper's Chief has two monsters!"

Gravekeeper Chief laughed confidently.

' _How did this happen? We set out to find some ruins, and suddenly we're about to become some! This is no joke… if I don't get my act together, we're all gonna be long gone!_ ' Hiccup thought.


	28. Grave Risk Part 2

Astrid the others were screaming and Hiccup can blame them, because the coffins were almost closed and if he didn't win this he may very well be joining them.

"Fret not, you won't hear your friends screams when their muffled by the buried earth," the Chief chuckled.

Down below, his friends watched on for their would-be saviour.

"Hiccup," said Astrid.

"I know you can win this, Hiccup!" said Ragnar hopefully.

"And I know I want outta here!" Fishlegs moaned.

"You can do this," said Heather.

Hiccup drew his next card. "All right, my turn and I summon Dragon Knight Touch in defence mode." The young crimson red Knight appeared on the field in a defence position. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1300) "And I'll finish my turnoff with one faceddown."

"Very well, my draw," said the Chief as he drew.

Hiccup looked at his hand. ' _I might very well survive this can get through this turn._ '

"Judging from the look in your eyes, you must have a plan? Well don't be so sure. You don't know what is good because you don't know what you're up against."

' _I don't like the sound of this_.'

"I play Card of Sanctity which allows us to draw into a holding six cards in our hand!" Hiccup and The Chief drew their cards.

"I now sacrifice Gravekeeper's Curse, to summon myself!"

"Summon yourself!"

The staff wielding monster was enveloped in light, as well as his duellist. When it died down, the Chief was standing on the field. (ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200) "Due to Necrovalley's effect, I gain 500 attack points." (ATK: 1900-2400) "And as long as I'm on the field, my graveyard's not affected by Necrovalley. Meaning I can use spells, traps and monster effects on any monsters laid to rest there. And that's not all. I also get to summon back one Gravekeeper from my graveyard."

"No way!"

"Rise, Gravekeeper Spear Soldier." The spearman rose next to his chief. (ATK: 1500-2000) "Now I'll play, the spell, known as Monster Reborn. This lets me summon yet another monster. And I choose, Gravekeeper's Curse." The named monster returned to the field again. (800-1300) "And since he was summoned, you lose another 500 life points!"

Hiccup groaned in pain as the Gravekeeper's Curse unleashed the blast.

Hiccup: 500

Chief: 1600

"Behold, the power of the shadow game."

"Shadow game? I knew it…" Hiccup grit his teeth, not knowing that his friends heard him.

"Yes. And the game's almost over. For you, your life points and your friends." The coffins' lids got ever closer to being fully closed.

"Come on, Hiccup," he tried to motivate himself. "You've gotta step your game up. You've gotta stop screwing around for your friends. They're all counting on you. And I won't let them down. Especially when down means six feet under in an old sarcophagus. No way no how! They're coming home!"

"Yes, their eternal home! Assailant attack!" The woman's dagger changed into a sword and she leapt in the air at Hiccup's monster. "And with Necrovalley's effect still out it will be an attack that 500 points stronger, more than enough to destroy that Knight of yours, especially since my Assailant's special effect just changed its battle mode offence."

Hiccup watched as Touch got onto his feet. "Face it, you've lost the duel."

"I don't think so, go Dragon Lifeforce!" yelled Hiccup revealing his facedown which has an image of a dragon's soul entering into Marauding Captain. "Thanks to this trap I gain like point equal to the attack points of a dragon-type monster on my side of the field. And since Dragon Knight's become dragons while the field in the Graveyard I gain 1500 Life Points."

Hiccup: 2000

Chief: 1600

"Curse you," the Chief growled. "But Assailant's attack still cuts through. Go, Stealth Slice Strike!"

Assailant sliced right through Touch and he exploded and Hiccup placed himself with the explosion.

Hiccup: 1500

Chief: 1600

The Chief glared at the returning Assailant, "You should've attacked faster!" he scolded with a hiss. The Assailant bowed her head and returned to her place on the field.

Hiccup scowled at his opponent, "Hey, it's not her fault you messed up, it's your own!"

"Shut your mouth, or better yet why don't I just shut it for you. After all, do not forget that I still have an attack and now I… will use it!" The Chief fired a beam of red energy straight towards Hiccup.

"Oh no you won't, go trap card Draining Shield!" said Hiccup.

Suddenly a barrier appeared around Hiccup blocking the Chief's attack.

"You can't!"

"Oh, I can, and I did. Your attack is cancelled out, but I also gain life point equal to your attack points."

Hiccup: 3900

Chief: 1600

The chief growled in frustration. "Fool! So you blocked one attack, but still I have another! Go Spear Soldier!" Spear soldier then slammed his spear into Hiccup.

Hiccup: 1900

Chief: 1600

"And now Gravekeepers Curse will attack with Doomsday Purge!"

Gravekeepers Curse's staff began to glow and seconds later so did Hiccup. It felt as if his body was being pulled apart and he groaned in agony.

Hiccup: 600

Chief: 1600

The coffins were now almost closed and Hiccup could barely stand as it panted for breath.

"You're proving to be an even less of a challenge than I thought," said the Chief. "Come now, flight back this is barely fun anymore."

"You're going to regret saying that," said Hiccup.

"Am I?"

"Yeah, because I'm one turn away from winning this duel."

"You are wrong! And want to see what I've about to play you will see why." The Chief then revealed a spell car that looked like some sort of ceremony under the eyes of a Sphinx. "Go Royal Tribute, it's a spell that I can activate so long as I have Necrovalley on my field. Now we must discard all monsters in our hand to the Graveyard."

Hiccup stared in horror as the monsters in his hand disappeared only leaving him with one card, Monster Reborn. "Not good."

"No, it's not," said the Chief as he discovered the monsters in his hand. "Well, it's not for you at least. For now whatever monsters you were planning to win with…"

"Are gone," Hiccup finished looking at what was left in his hand. ' _And the only card I have left is Monster Reborn, which I can't even use because of_ _Necrovalley._ '

The Chief smirked, because he knew that there was no way for Hiccup to win now.

Hiccup looked at his Duel Disk. ' _It all comes down to this_. _With no monsters, if I'm gonna save my friends I've got a draw something big right now._ '

"You can do this, Hiccup," said Toothless.

Hiccup nodded and drew his card. "All right, here goes something." Hiccup looked at the card his eyes widened, it was Toothless. "Hey, I just got you, bud."

The Chief laughed. "Drawn a good monster have you? Shame you have nothing to sacrifice so you can summon him."

Hiccup groaned. ' _He's right, even with Toothless special ability I need at least one monster. If it wasn't for this_ _Necrovalley I could use monster reborn to bring back a monster and use that._ ' His eyes widened. "Of course, that's it."

"What are you on about?" the Chief asked.

"There is a way to summon my monster, but to do that I'm going to have to use my Graveyard."

"Have you forgotten that you're not allowed to use the Graveyard thanks to Necrovalley?"

"Actually that's not entirely true," said Hiccup smirked and the Chief gave him a puzzled look. "Necrovalley only prevents me from using the Graveyard from the outside, but I can still access the cards that are inside it."

"What?"

"Don't what me, you know exactly what I mean," said Hiccup. "The card inside my graveyard I can still use."

"No!"

"Yes, and I just have the card I need," said Hiccup. Suddenly the spirit of a Dragon Knight with green dark armour appears behind Hiccup and attached to his right arm was drill.

"What's that?"

"That's the card I was talking about," said Hiccup. "Meet Dragon Knight Groundsplitter and he's got quite the special ability. You see for one turn only if he's in the Graveyard I'm allowed to summon a high-powered monster without a sacrifice."

"But I never sent that beast to the graveyard," said the Chief.

"Actually, you did? Don't you remember?" Hiccup asked.

The Chief then remembered during his last turn. "No!"

"I'm afraid so. What help you out so much back then will hurt you now," said Hiccup. "Now by using the effect of Groundsplitter, I now summon for my hand Dragon Knight Toothless!"

Toothless then jumped onto the field with a slight smirk on his face. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2200)

"No!" said the Chief in horror.

"Okay, bud, takedown that Gravekeepers Curse with Plasma Blast!" Hiccup ordered.

"I thought you'd never ask," said Toothless.

Toothless and created an energy orb in his hand and tossed it straight towards Gravekeepers Curse. The Chief could only watch as Gravekeepers Curse exploded.

Hiccup: 600

Chief: 400

"I still have life points," said the Chief.

"Yeah, but not for much longer, because Toothless has a special ability that deals damage to you equal to the destroyed monster he just destroyed," said Hiccup.

"It can't be!" the chief roared.

"I'm afraid so," said Toothless and tossed a never plasma blast that the chief.

The chief was not backed by an explosion in the last of his Life Points began to drop.

Hiccup: 600 (Winner!"

Chief: 0

"I guess that's that," said Hiccup as Necrovalley sank into nothingness and the surrounding tomb appeared once more.

The Chief groaned in pain as the Assailant and a group of spear-carrying Gravekeeper's ran to the both of them.

"Is he okay?!" Hiccup ran around the square perimeter as the Assailant got her leader to his feet.

He was then barred passage from reaching them by the other Gravekeepers. The Chief noticed this and waved his arm, "No! He lives!" he looked at Hiccup, "He was a worthy opponent."

Hiccup smiled, "Aw thanks! As a duellist I have to admit that your moves were awesome, too! Despite the circumstances of the duel, it was a good one."

"Only one other person has passed this challenge," the Chief took a deep breath, still recovering from the attack, "That is, until now. For overcoming our trials, I bequeath unto you," he reached up and pulled at something from under his shirt, "This mystic medallion." Once he handed the gift, Hiccup immediately noticed a problem.

"Some gift," Hiccup held up the pendant, "It's only half!"

"But of course!" the Chief lightly scolded, "The only other person who passed the challenge has the other half. Hopefully, when the time comes for you to battle in another Shadow Game, this medallion will serve you well."

"I'll be sure to remember that," said Hiccup as he placed the medallion necklace around his neck.

Hiccup then watched as the Chief waved his arm, then saw the coffins down below them open all the way, his friends free at last.

"We're free!" Ragnar yelled.

"Ugh, someone turn down the light!" Fishlegs moaned.

"Not me, I love light, light is my friend!" Banner said joyously as Pharaoh mewled.

"Hiccup did it!" Astrid cheered.

"Though, I have to admit he had me worried for a second," Heather admitted.

On that note, the wrappings around them were unravelled, letting them crawl out.

* * *

They met up with Hiccup outside of the temple along with the Chief and Assailant. The moment they met up Astrid hugged Hiccup, much to his surprise and hers. She then quickly broke apart from him and the two of them turn slightly pink.

"That was an excellent duel," she said blushing slightly.

Banner smiled at his students. "I knew you would pass this test, Hiccup. I just knew it."

"Wait, what do you mean 'test'? Don't you mean challenge?" Hiccup asked, getting just a tiny bit suspicious at the knowing tone of Banner's voice. He didn't feel right for some reason.

"Uh…" Banner blinked as every other of his students turned to him, "Of course, that is what I mean. I mean, test. Challenge. It's the same thing, I right? All that matters is you won. Isn't that right guys?"

Hiccup, Ragnar, Astrid and Heather looked at one another and they were all thinking the same thing. Something was indeed off.

The Gravekeeper Chief turned to Hiccup, "Well, then, it is time for you and your friends to return to your own world."

"Sounds good to me!" Hiccup turned to him and the masked girl, "Just how do we get back?"

"Go to the gate of the tomb," the Chief instructed, looking to the sky, "When the three suns meet, the Veil of Radiance will appear before you. That is how you get home,"

"Uh… Okay," Hiccup scratched his head, not really understanding.

The sound of marching made them all look off to the side to see a large group of Gravekeepers coming towards them, weapons at the ready.

The Chief scowled at them all, "Fools! What are you doing?!" he demanded.

"They are trespassers!" One of them yelled, "They must be punished! If not by you, then by one of us!"

"Punished! Punished! Punished!" The rest of the Gravekeepers chanted as they all advanced on them.

"Here we go again," said Heather.

The Chief nodded and stood in front of the group, "Stop! He has paid for his misdeeds. He has passed the challenge, his freedom has been earned."

Even that didn't stop the Gravekeeper mob from trying to kill Hiccup and his friends. What did stop them was the Assailant, who stepped between them, her blade clashing and clanging against the weapons of her fellow Gravekeepers.

Her mask became loose as she knelt down in front of her leader. Hiccup stared at her, "It's you!"

The girl had been the Assailant during Hiccup's duel.

"Yes," the girl rose to her feet, "I am the Gravekeeper's Assailant, I'm sorry I fought you, but I had to obey my Chief."

"That's quite all right," said Hiccup.

"Uh… Hiccup, don't you think it's rude to not introduce me… I mean us to your friend?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid, Ragnar and Heather rolled their eyes.

"Maybe you should go and find your own friends," Hiccup suggested.

Assailant turned to Hiccup again. "When you get back to your world, please give a message to the owner of the other half. Tell him, Yasmin still in the other world and that I haven't forgotten him, and I believe one day we'll meet again."

"Great, now a messenger boy for her boyfriend," said Hiccup.

"Wow, talk about long distance relationship," said Heather.

The assailant snapped back to the mob, "Stand back! He has won the challenge and we must honour our word! We are the keepers of the grave, not the makers! If you want harm any of them, you'll have to get through me," she raised her daggers to make a point.

They watched as as the mob stood down.

"I would hurry," Yasmin advised as the crowd split into two halves, creating a passage for them.

"No joke…" Hiccup grabbed his backpack, ready to leave.

A light made everyone look down at Hiccup's belt just in time to see Toothless pop out of his friend's deck.

"Run!" He pointed out the quickly merging suns.

"The suns are combining!" Fishlegs warned as they started running.

They ran as fast as they can towards the archway and entered through it just as beams of familiar green light shot out of the ground and up towards the colourful sky above them.

As the light engulfed them, everyone held on to each other for dear life.

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes. His vision came clearer after blinking a few times. He was lying against a stone pillar, just next to the broken archway of the ruins site while Astrid's head was on his shoulder.

He saw Ragnar near the ruins of the pyramid, with Heather curled up next to him with her head in his chest.

Banner was on the ground, as Pharaoh on his face nearby. Fishlegs laid spread-eagled a few feet away.

Hiccup got to his feet and saw his Toothless card just under his sneaker. He bent down, picked it up and looked at the others again.

"Huh…" Hiccup scratched his head, "Must've been a hallucination from those mouldy sandwiches at lunch time," He thought aloud before feeling something heavy around his neck. He looked down and his eyes widened at the sight of the medallion he won from the Gravekeeper Chief.

"So, it wasn't a big dream…" said Hiccup. "But still…" he looked up at the sun above them, "At least we're back to one sun. Although," he looked back at his Toothless card, "Something tells me that the Shadows will be back."

* * *

Dragon Knight Groundsplitter

ATK: 1800/ DEF: 2000

5 stars

EARTH

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-Type monster while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. Once, while this card is in the Graveyard, 1 Level 5 or higher "Dragon Knight" monster you Normal Summon can be Summoned without Tributing.

Dragon Lifeforce

Trap Card

When your opponent attacks a face up attack position Dragon-type monster, before damage calculation you gain life point equal to the targeted dragons attack points.

Card image: A dragon's soul entering into Marauding Captain


	29. Doomsday Duel Part 1

Somewhere, in a dark cave at night, a group of shadow figures gathered around as a strange man's voice was heard.

"Our enemies have been tested… our allies are in place… the hour is upon us!" The voice said, delightfully. "It's time to cover the world in shadow! Which among you will lead us to battle?"

"I'll go master!" Another voice claimed, younger and more arrogant.

"Nightshroud…" This figure was a blonde-haired man, covered by a black dragon mask. He was dressed in black coat, shirt and pants.

"So be it…"

"I will not fail!" Nightshroud boasted as he slipped on an academy duel disk. "And Academy Island's prize shall be ours!"

* * *

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed late one night as Chancellor Stoick stood alone in his office, his lights turned off. He stood at the window, watching the rain roll down the glass as the sky was illuminated by the lightning. Something had been troubling him lately, something very important. It was something that would change the lives of many that were on the island.

Another flash of lightning came, but this time, Stoick saw something. He waited until the lightning flash again, and then saw a dark object fly across the sky, through the storm clouds.

He frowned, placing his hands behind his back, eyes never leaving the sight, "And so, it begins. The fight… the War…"

As Stoick stayed in his office, the dark form flew through the air until coming to a complete stop on the mountainside, just below the rim of the volcano that stood on Duel Academy Island.

A figures stepped off of the hang-glider, the object from the sky, and stepped a bit away as the it enveloped in flames. And that person was Nightshroud.

He gazed out from behind his dragon mask and chuckled darkly. A bright glowing made him look down, a half medallion started glowing around his neck. And once he knew the other half was here as he looked out across the island, feeling the wind blow pass them.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Slifer dorm, oblivious to the storm, Hiccup was fast asleep, the former snoring the night away. Fishlegs lay curled up underneath his own blankets as the storm raged own, the both of them frightened by the intensity of it.

"I don't get it, Ragnar," Fishlegs looked underneath his bunk to see Jaden roll over onto his side. "There's thunder, lightning; how can Hiccup sleep through this?"

When Ragnar didn't reply back he looked above found that Ragnar was asleep as well. "Okay, maybe I should rephrase that question, how come the two of you can sleep through thunder and lightning?"

He was so busy talking that he didn't notice the glowing coming from the medallion that the Gravekeeper Chief had given to Hiccup.

The next day, things went about their normal routine. Banner's class on Alchemy, while it did provide some insight on fusion monsters, was becoming a lot easier just to duel and figure things out.

Hiccup was busy taking notes on their class suddenly they heard the bell rung for the end of class. He then began to pack his stuff away.

"I can never understand how you can be so calm in class or during a duel," said Fishlegs in disbelief.

"To be honest I never actually think about it," Hiccup shrugged. He then looked at his PDA. "We better get our next class."

"Just a moment there Hiccup," Gobber called out to his student just as Hiccup finish packing his bag, "I'm afraid your next class will have two wait. It seems Chancellor Stoick wants to have a word with you."

"What does my dad want to see me?" Hiccup frowned.

"I don't know what you did, but whatever it is you're so busted," Snotlout smirked.

"Actually, Snotlout, he wants to see you too," said Gobberr.

"Say what!?" Snotlout snapped his head to Gobber, his eyes wide and his brain ransacking try to figure out what he did wrong.

Gobber nodded, "You heard me. He also wants to see some others," he scanned the different sections of his classroom, "Astrid, Ragnar, Heather and Speedfist."

Hiccup frowned as his friends stood up in their place at the mention of their names, "This doesn't sound good."

* * *

"We're not gonna make a run for it, Gobber, you don't have to escort us to my father's office!"

Gobber nodded as he led the six down the hallway, "Yes, I do. It seems that your father wants to have a word with me as well."

The small group reached Stoick's door just as two others arrived at the same time. It was Wolflegs and Spitelout.

"Dad?" Snotlout blinked.

"Well, well," Spitelout smiled at the group, "Look at this convocation of students. Some of the best students in the school, I see."

His smile widened slightly as he took notice of Hiccup. He leaned to the side to make eye contact, "Uh oh. Some of these things are nothing like the other," he said with a slight smirk, "Looks like someone are a little bit lost."

"We're following Gobber, which would mean we are all lost," Hiccup smirked at his poor attempt for humour.

* * *

The group of nine entered the office of the headmaster and stood there for what seemed like hours as the balding man explained to him why they were there.

"The three sacred what cards?" Hiccup asked when he got the opportunity between sentences. His eyes were widened as high as he can make them, his mouth almost agape. Toothless was next to him in the same position. They weren't sure if they were hearing right. They needed Stoick to repeat himself to be absolutely certain.

"Beasts," Stoick turned away from the window and looked at him, "And due to their colossal power, their intense might, they were hidden here."

"No way…" Hiccup whispered. The Sacred Beasts cards were here? They were right here at Duel Academy the whole time? "Where?"

"They're actually much closer than you'd ever think," Stoick pointed down, "Right below you…"

The group of nine murmured and looked at their feet.

"You see, Duel Academy was built in part to protect the Sacred Beasts cards," He explained. "They were buried deep underground, their power sealed safely away. After all, legend has it that if these cards ever see the light of day…" Stoick put his hands behind his back and his face became more solemn, "Terrible things will happen. Buildings will crumble, light will fade, souls will fall. Our world will be no more!"

Astrid and Heather gulped at what the chancellor had just said.

Speedfist's eyes were as wide as plates, "No more…?"

Snotlout's brow furrowed, a scowl on his face.

Hiccup in Ragnar were both looking wide eyed still.

Stoick then looked at them all. "So this is why the nine if you are here. To protect these three cards from the wicked ones."

Wolflegs frowned and raised an eyebrow, "Wicked ones?"

"That's right," Stoick nodded, "A band of duellists known as Shadow Riders who covet these cards," he glanced over his shoulder, out the window, "I'm afraid one of them are already here. He arrived in the thick of last night's storm."

"Naturally," Speedfist murmured, "One of villain's most used clichés."

"Okay…" Astrid took a deep breath, "So how do we protect these cards?"

"I'm stumped on that as well," Heather added.

Stoick brought out two small black boxes, "By protecting the Spirit Gates. To get to the cards, one must unlock them, and to unlock them, one must gain the nine keys that are needed for each gate. That is how we will protect these cards, by protecting the keys… and here they are, one for each of you to guard."

Everyone watched as Stoick opened the boxes. Inside, within the lined interior, were nine golden oddly shaped keys.

Speedfist looked at them, "Wait. If we hold the keys, won't that make us targets for these Shadow Riders?"

Stoick nodded, "It's true. With these keys, the Shadow Riders will seek you out."

"Uh, seek us out?" Snotlout blinked, "You mean take us out!"

"Only in a duel," Stoick went on, fully captivating and confusing the room. "Fortunately for our side, the keys can't be simply stolen. An ancient edict commands that the keys to be won in a duel. So, I've called upon our schools nine best to take up this challenge and fight the good fight!"

He cleared his throat as he looked at them all, mainly Spitelout and Gobber, "Well, seven best really, but I needed nine so… you know."

Spitelout leaned into Hiccup's view, "He certainly doesn't mean me!" he hissed.

"Of course, if any of you think that you aren't up to it, and feel like backing out, I won't blame you. After all, these Shadow Riders play for keeps. So…" Sheppard pushed the box and the keys outward to the group, "Who feels like saving the world?"

Speedfist looked at Astrid.

Astrid looked at Snotlout.

Snotlout looked at Ragnar.

Ragnar looked at Heather.

Hiccup snatched a straight key that also had a string around it, " _Count me in_!" he said as he placed it around his neck.

Hearing him, Wolflegs couldn't help but smile. He reached and grabbed a key, "I too, accept."

Ragnar smiled as he took his key. "Don't think you're leaving me out of this."

Speedfist nodded and reached for another, "It'd be my honour."

Snotlout just grunted as he snatched his respective key.

"I don't want you boys having all the fun," said Astrid jokingly as she took a key.

"Well said, my friend." Heather grabbed a key.

"How can I refuse? After all," Spitelout wagged a finger, smiling, "Our very world is at stake! Our way of life, the future of our school," he took the second-to-last key, "and if I said no, I wouldn't have the pleasure of showing everyone my skills!"

Stoick grumbled, "Well, I'm glad you're doing it for all the right reasons…" he muttered to Spitelout.

"Ya Count me in old friend," said Gobber and claimed the final key for his own.

"So, who's going first?" Hiccup asked looked at his fellow key protectors.

"Obviously, I should go first! If not, I say Wolflegs," said Spitelout waved to his favourite pupil, "After all, he did beat Hiccup."

Hiccup looked at Spitelout, only to meet his sneering face.

"That's right," the Obelisk Blue professor whispered, "I know all about that little match you had with Wolflegs, and I mean little because I heard you lost in no time at all! How pathetic."

"I would hardly say no time at all," Astrid corrected.

Snotlout scoffed, "Forget the both of 'em, I'm clearly the best choice!"

"There is no choice," said Stoick, finally stepping in the argument, "This isn't some tournament where you get to choose who goes first! This is war! You could be attacked by your enemy at anytime and any place. My students and colleagues; be on your guard…"

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup and ragnar were in their dorm room telling Fishlegs what their newly appointed duty was and what it was all about.

"So that's about it," Hiccup finished, running his finger along his key, "Now, we just wait." He shrugged. "Not much else we can do since the Shadow Riders choose who to go after" He smirked. "But we won't make it easy for them!"

Fishlegs stared at him, still not believing what he had heard, "Aren't you two scared?!" he squeaked.

"Of course were scared, but we can hardly show it in public," said Ragnar. "That would just indicate that we're the weakest of the Gate Keepers making as a perfect target for them."

"He's right in the last thing we want is for them to catch us when we're half asleep," said Hiccup as he climbed onto his bunk, "I'm gonna settle for some deck preparation. Gotta be ready for the Shadow Riders." He said as he pulled out his cards, grabbing his backpack and emptying out any leftover cards.

Ragnar had an amused look on his face as he took out his two decks and walked over to sit at the desk, his key dangling from his chest as he adjusted some cards, thinking about what to put in and what to take out.

Fishlegs looked at them. "Well, with you to fighting, the world stands a pretty good chance."

* * *

Later that night, as the moon glowed within the sky, Astrid walked down the path towards Hiccup's dorm room alone, her key bouncing as she walked.

' _If what Chancellor Stoick said was right, and it's these Shadow Riders who decide who to duel, odds are they'll go for who they think is weakest first_ ,' Astrid thought as her heels dug into the dirt. ' _And with those Slifer Red jackets, that's Hiccup and Ragnar. I gotta warn them!_ '

Unbeknownst to any of them, on the opposite of the Slifer Dorm, in the treeline, was a pair of feet next to a large tree. A pair of glowing red eyes pierced the shadows, staring at a certain room on the second level.

* * *

Hiccup and Ragnar were still awake in their room, going over their decks. Fishlegs was snoring the night away on his bunks.

"I think adding more cards that stop attacks can be a big help," Hiccup muttered as he took out one card and put in another.

"True, but coming up with new combinations would also help," said Ragnar put some cards together into his deck.

"Will be ready for them that's for sure," said Hiccup smiling.

"Naturally," said Ragnar.

Suddenly a bright light soon enveloped their room, causing them to jump up in surprise.

"What's going on?" Hiccup asked.

"Don't look at me just as confused as you are," said Ragnar.

A second later, Hiccup's pendant started glowing. They looked down at the pendant and the realise this could only mean one thing.

"They're here," they both said.

"Hiccup! Ragnar!"

They both looked to see Astrid burst into the room.

"Astrid? What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked with a raise of the eyebrows.

Before she could open her mouth, a loud ominous laugh filled the room.

"What's happening?" Astrid asked.

"What's happening? The first duel is happening!" an unknown voice spoke up. The light suddenly shone brightly until their vision was completely obscured.

* * *

When their sight returned to them, Hiccup, Ragnar and Astrid were standing on a platform of white light, hovering in the middle of a volcano, rocks walls on all sides and a pot of lava below.

"Where are we?" Astrid wondered.

"In one very weird dream," said Hiccup.

A pillar of lava suddenly shot out into the sky, taking the form of a serpentine dragon.

"Make that a nightmare," said Ragnar.

"It's neither," the unknown voice spoke from the lava dragon. It twisted in the air a few times and then crashed into the platform. A sinister figure walked out from the blazing remains, laughing maniacally.

"What's going on?" Hiccup demanded to know.

"You mean, you don't know?" The new arrival said.

"Call me a slow learner."

"And call me Nightshroud." The fire died down so that they could see the person clearly. He was a young man with long blonde hair, a trench coat of the same colour, a dragon like mask on his face and an academy style duel disk on his arm.

"Nightshroud?"

"I'll be the one taking that key you have around your neck."

"You guys sure don't waste much time." Hiccup half-amusingly stated.

Nightshroud looked down at the medallion half hanging around his neck, which just so happened to be glowing like Hiccup's piece. He looked in slight interest. "Nice medallion," the Shadow Rider commented. "The Gravekeeper Chief, huh? Must be getting sloppy. But if you think you'll beat me as easily as you beat him, you have another thing coming. I'll get that key and I'll get it now. And just to make sure of that, I've brought a friend over."

"What's that mean?" Hiccup asked not liking the sound of that.

Nightshroud smirked menacingly. "Say hello to Fishlegs."

"Oh no…"

"Hiccup! Help!"

Hiccup looked in the direction of Fishlegs' voices were coming from and saw a rock sitting in the lava pot. In the middle of three 'claws', was a light blue bubble, in which were the two Slifer boys, still wearing their pajamas.

"Not good," said Ragnar.

"Hold on!" said Astrid.

"I'll get you guy outta there," Hiccup reassured him.

"Looks like he's in hot water. Or maybe I should say hot molten lava. But then, such is the nature of a shadow game, key keeper."

"Shadow Game? Listen, just duel me, but let him go!"

"I don't think so. I need them to ensure a speedy match. After all, that protection orb he's in… well, let's just say that it wasn't exactly made to last. And, I'm afraid there's more." He held up a duel monster card, except that the image was pitch black. "For you see, also at stake, is your soul. Which will be sealed inside this card when you lose. Of course, if I lose, then my soul will be sealed. But let's be honest… me lose? No way. Now then… shall we?"

"You can't agree to this," Astrid warned.

"There's too much at stake," Ragnar added.

"Tell that to Fishlegs. He's about to be burned alive in a pit of molten lava. He's my friends and I'm not gonna let that happen to him or us." Hiccup declared. He then smiled slightly. "Besides, this isn't my first shadow game." He reminded. "Okay then, you want a duel? You got it!"

"Good luck Hiccup," Fishlegs articulated.

Both duellists inserted their decks and activated their disks.

"Time to get this game started!"

Hiccup: 4000

Nightshroud: 4000

"You wanna see game?" said Nightshroud as he drew his sixth card. "How's this? I summon Troop Dragon in defence mode." A short humanoid green dragon armed with a sword and shield kneeled down in front his duelist. (ATK: 700/DEF: 800) "Plus, I'll place a face-down while I'm at it."

"Not bad," Hiccup admitted. "But how's he gonna stack up against this guy? My Dragon Knight Fanghook." The young couple armoured stood tall on Hiccup's field. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400) "And now I'll attack your dragon with Flame Uppercut!" The young knight swung his mace with a blazing uppercut making short work of Troop Dragon.

"You know, there was something I forgot to mention. Troop Dragon's effect lets me summon another one from my deck, whenever he's sent to the graveyard." A second copy of the named monster took its place. (ATK: 700/DEF: 800)

"Right, forgot about that," Hiccup muttered. "I'll end my turn."

"Now I'll play my face-down, Call of the Haunted. This lets me dig through my graveyard for a monster. Such as, the Troop Dragon." The first humanoid dragon reappeared next to the other one. (ATK: 700/DEF: 800) "There's more where that came from. Next I'll sacrifice them both to summon…"

"Summon what?" Astrid gasped.

"Oh boy." Hiccup mumbled in agreement.

"This can't be good," said Ragnar.

Another serpentine dragon shot out from the lava and flew through the air, passing in front of the trapped Slifer, surprising him enough so that he fell over. "I hope this wall stays intact," he said as he began to knocked against their shield's surface a few times, but was surprised when his arm passed through on the last one. "I guess not."

The creature circled in the air a few times more, then came to a halt in front of Nightshroud, the lava fading away to reveal a thin, yet tall and fierce black dragon. "The Red Eyes Black Dragon!" (ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000)

"This is not good!" said Astrid.

"This may be tougher than I thought," Hiccup muttered.

"Red Eyes, attack Sparkman! Inferno Fire Blast." The named dragon opened its mouth and shot out a blast of fire which incinerated the electric hero and went on to strike Hiccup.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup: 3000

Nightshroud: 4000

He grabbed his chest. "That hurt…" he groaned.

"Did you forget this is a Shadow Game?" Toothless asked, appearing behind him in transparent form. "It's bound to hurt."

' _I know it's gonna hurt_ ,' Hiccupfrowned. ' _Still doesn't stop the pain from coming_.'

' _I'll give you that_ ,' Toothless admitted.

Nightshroud smirked, "That's right and it's about to hurt a lot more, Key-Keeper. Because the true pain is about to begin! So hurry up and move; I've got a doomsday to start!"

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs called as Hiccup struggled to get back up on his feet.

"Come on, Hiccup." Astrid encouraged.

"You can still make a comeback," Ragnar nodded.

"Believe me, I won't stop until I do." Hiccup promised as he drew his card. "Okay, now I play Dragon Knight Cloudjumer in attack mode!"

The middle-aged night appeared on the field and crossed his arms. (ATK: 2000/ DEF: 100

"That monster may be strong, but it's not strong enough to take on that Red Eyes," said Astrid.

"True, but that's not Hiccup's target," said Ragnar.

"By lowering his attack points by 400, Cloudjumper gets the privilege of attacking you directly," said Hiccup.

Cloudjumper then jumped into the air right over Red Eyes. (ATK: 2000-1600). He then pulled out several daggers. "Go, Cloud Slice!"

Cloudjumper then jumped into the air and tossed several daggers at Nightshroud.

"Yes!" The spectators cheered.

Jaden: 3000

Nightshroud: 2400

Nightshroud stumbled back from the attack, panting slightly.

"Of course after attacking, Cloudjumper switches to defence mode," said Hiccup as Cloudjumper went into a defensive position. "And I'll equip them with the spell card Mist Body and as long as this card is equipped he can't be destroyed in battle." A strange mist then covered Cloudjumper. He then looked at Nightshroud "So you can feel the effects of your own Shadow Game, too…" Hiccup noted. "Maybe that should teach you to use my friend as bait."

"Enough!" Nightshroud yelled as he drew his next card. Through the blue glass of his mask, Nightshroud saw what he had drawn and smiled, "You fool… those knights won't change a thing. But you know what, this card I have will! Its gonna change your Life Points, Jaden, and not in a good way. You see, Cloudjumper can't protect you from my Red-Eyes' attack!"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "I'll bite, why not?"

"Because this time, his attack is an actual card!" Nightshroud snapped, holding out the card he had just drawn, "Inferno Fire Blast!"

Hiccup watched wide-eyed as Red-Eyes prepared another ball of flames like the one that destroyed his Sparkman. Only this time, it was aiming straight for him.

"A card?" Astrid gasped.

"Not good," said Ragnar.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled out.

Hiccup and the others cried out as the ball struck their end of the energy field, flames licking at them. Ragnar and Astrid only felt little ember from the blast due to being on the side-lines. But Hiccup was right in the middle of the inferno, being almost engulfed in the flames.

Nightshroud laughed as the one they could do list covered himself as best he could, "Nice card, huh? It's just as strong as my Red-Eyes' attack, the only difference is that it hits your Life Points directly!"

Hiccup: 600

Nightshroud: 2400

"And I'm not through with you yet, Key-Keeper, because I activate a quick card of my own! Ekibyo Drakmord!" Nightshroud roared. Suddenly Cloudjumper looked very ill. "A funny name, but I sure you it's no laughing matter. You see thanks to this card Cloudjumper is no longer able to attack and at the end of your second turn he is automatically destroyed and this card returns back to my hand. I know what that means no more direct attacks."

"Oh no!" Astrid gasped. "Without Cloudjumper Hiccup won't be able to rage any direct attacks!"

"And what's worse that card just returned back to his hand meaning you can use it again later," said Ragnar.

Fishlegs pressed himself against the barrier, watching the duel intently. He suddenly screamed as he passed halfway through the barrier, which now had a pair of large holes in it. The Slifer scuttled back to the centre as the hole became bigger.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried.

Hiccup was panting heavily and he could barely stand, but he had to carry on. "All right, my turn!" Hiccup and reached for the top card of his deck. ' _And from the rate that orbit disappearing, may be my last chance to save Fishlegs._ ' He then drew his card. ' _And the world._ '


	30. Doomsday Duel Part 2

Hiccup's duel against Nightshroud wasn't going to well and what's worst time was the enemy, because the orb that was keeping Fishlegs save was disappearing which was proven when Fishlegs almost fell out of it.

"Hiccup! This orb is disappearing fast!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Just hang in there!" Hiccup yelled. He then looked at Nightshroud's field which contained Red Eye's Black Dragon. "Actually, I tell doesn't come to that."

"Unless, you get a move on it will," said Nightshroud. "So, do your friend a favour and make your move now."

"You're going to regret saying that," said Hiccup. "Because the first thing I'm going to do is activate Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two extra cards." Hiccup to his two cards and looked at them.

"I'm not finished yet, because I summon Dragon Knight Scaldy to the field in attack mode!" The aqua were Knight then appeared on the field. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000)

"And next I play the spell card Polymerization and fuse together my Dragon Knight Barf and Belch together as one in order to summon…" Suddenly the two mysterious night appeared on the field and began to combined. In their place stood a large foyer in black and dark green armour with a sword in each hand. "Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman! "Now Twin Swordsman attack Red Eye's Black Dragon with Twin Dragon Sword Slash!"

"Go, Infernal Fire Blast!" Nightshroud commanded.

Twin Swordsman charge straight towards Red Eye's dodging all the blasts the dragon was firing. He then jumped up into the end landed on his back and plunged one of his swords into him. Everyone watched as both the swordsman and the dragon both fell into the lava below.

"Both destroyed?" said Nightshroud.

"But what was the point, Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

"The point is now that Red Eye's is gone Nightshroud is wide open for Scaldy," said Hiccup as Scaldy then placed his hands together. "Go, Scald Water Blast!"

Scaldy fired a stream of boiling hot water that slammed right into Nightshroud.

Hiccup: 600

Nightshroud: 1800

"I told you that you should have watched what he said," said Hiccup.

"The game is not over quite yet Key-Keeper," said Nightshroud.

"We'll see about that, because I place one card facedown" said Hiccup as he placed a card facedown. "And then I activate Emergency Provisions. So by destroying one card I gain 1000 life points."

Hiccup destroyed the card he just placed on the field.

Hiccup: 1600

Nightshroud: 1800

"And that's not even the best part, because the card I destroyed was Dragon Knight Emblem," said Hiccup smiling. "And thanks to its effect I can look through my deck and place a Dragon Knight into my hand and I think I'll go with my old pal Skull."

"Do whatever makes you feel happy," said Nightshroud. "Because now it's my turn." He then drew his card. "And now I play a Mirage Dragon!" They watched as a golden Chinese looking dragon appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000) "And despite his name, his attack is no allusion. Go, Spectrum Blast!"

Mirage Dragon then fired a beam with several different colours and it slammed straight into Scaldy, who then exploded. Hiccup fell to his knees as the after-shocks slammed into him.

Hiccup: 800

Nightshroud: 1800

"No, I can't let it and here," said Hiccup as he got back onto his feet.

"You don't have to," Nightshroud smirked. "Mirage Dragon will end it for you."

"Come on, Hiccup, you can do this," said Ragnar.

"Hiccup! Hurry, I don't know how much more I can take!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Hiccup, that orb is disappearing fast," said Astrid.

"Yeah, but not as fast as that Mirage Dragon is about to," said Hiccup as he drew. He then looked at it and nodded. He then revealed a Spell Card with a picture of Meteor Dragon shielding Red Eye's Black Dragon from a sword. "I activate the spell card Dragon Sacrifice, now by sacrificing a Dragon type monster from my field I get to draw one card for every one of its levels." They watched as Cloudjumper disappeared into pixels. "Now Cloudjumper level was four so I could draw four cards."

Hiccup drew his four cards and looked at them. "All right, now I play the Warrior Returning Alive in order to get Scaldy back and next I summon him in defence mode!" Scaldy then reappeared on the field. "And since he is the only card out on my field I could draw two cards."

Hiccup drew his two extra cards and smiled. "All right, now I play Fusion Substitute." Hiccup then show them a spell card that resembled a great deal of Polymerization. "This card works just like Polymerization so are fused together my Dragon Knight's Hookfang, Meatlug and Windshear in order to form…" Suddenly the three knights appeared on the field and began to merge together. Then a very menacing knight in crimson armour with very sharp claws appeared on the field. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2600) "Dragon Knight Berserker!"

"All right, way to go!" Fishlegs cheered.

"With a monster with 2800 attack points Hiccup will be to the spell that Mirage Dragon," Ragnar smirked.

"Now, go, Berserker, attack Mirage Dragon with Berserker Claw! Hiccup commanded. "Berserker then charge straight towards Mirage Dragon has flames covered his body. "Oh, and do not forget to mention against 500 extra attack points when he attacks a monster?" The flames increased Berserker strength as he roared. (ATK: 2800-3300). Berserker leapt forward and slashes claw that Mirage Dragon slicing him to pieces.

Hiccup: 600

Nightshroud: 100

Hiccup smirked. "There's that flinch I was looking for."

"No it wasn't," Nightshroud corrected. "That was a twitch. It's not the same. I had something in my eye, that's all. You got that? It was a twitch!"

Hiccup looked amused for the first time since this duel started. "Call it what you want, but there's one thing you can't argue, I'm winning this shadow duel now, Nightshroud. And I think I'll end my turn leaving you with that thought and a facedown."

As the reversed card appeared, Hiccup stared at Nightshroud. "Just one more attack!" Hiccup muttered. "Guess, I'll be keeping my key…"

"Chump," Nightshroud hissed as he drew his card. "Life Points don't matter, whose winning the duel it's the card you hold. And if you don't believe me. I'll activate Card of Sanctity!"

Both duellist drew until they had six cards in their hand.

"He must be pretty confident if he's allowing Hiccup to draw more cards," said Ragnar.

"I know," said Astrid.

"I have the very card in my hand to destroy everything you have!" said Nightshroud.

Moments later, a small group of lava-dragons rose from the pit below, the molten rock dripping off of their bodies as they roared and growled behind their master.

"Ok… that's not good," Hiccup murmured at the sight.

"Did you honestly think Key-Keeper… that you can get rid of my Dragons so easily?" Nightshroud asked slowly, "That you can simply banish them all to the Graveyard, then just be done with them!?"

The Slifer grumbled, "That was the plan I hoped for…"

"Well, you're going to have to keep on hoping…" Nightshroud placed the card he drew onto the disk, "Because now I summon the Red-Eyes Black Chick!"

From out of the pit of lava, a small red egg appeared on the field. Seconds later after its arrival, something cracked the shell from within and a small hole was made by the thing lurking inside. Its glowing red eyes were glaring at Hiccup. (ATK: 800/DEF: 500)

"So then… that's your big card?" Hiccuo asked, pointing to the egg.

"That's right," Nightshroud nodded, "Until I use Chick's special ability that is. You see, by sending him to the Graveyard, from my hand I can summon his daddy… the full-grown Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The egg disappeared in a wall of fire and from that, another Red-Eyes Black Dragon was born, wings outstretched. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000)

"Actually, that's not true," Nightshroud smiled a bit, "As big as this Red-Eyes is, it can get bigger! Red-Eyes, I now sacrifice you to summon…" He watched as his Red-Eyes dove through the field and disappeared into the lava pit, "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

The pool of lava began to bubble and shake violently as something began to stir from beneath the duellists' feet. Also the lava was flowing near the barrier Fishlegs was trapped in as a many dragons covered in lava appeared. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000)

"As the molten ashes of my fallen dragons boil up from their fiery graves, ablaze with new life, each one gives Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon 300 more attack points!"

"Wait a sec…" Ragnar looked at his hands to count, "He has six dragons so that's 1800 points." He looked up as the molten dragons disappeared, leaving one huge one, "Oh no!"

"That's a total of 4200 points? He can't withstand that!" Astrid gasped.

The final lava Dragon soon lost its magma outer shell and gained a shiny black form. It looked like the original Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but this one had golden stripes along its body and head, as well as six strange wings on its back. (ATK: 2400-4200)

"It's over! The Spirit Key, your friend, your soul…" Nightshroud laughed triumphantly, "Thanks to Darkness Dragon's attack, they're all mine! Go, Red-Eyes, attack with Inferno Dark Fire! END THIS!"

As the Darkness Dragon prepared a stream of large darkened flames, Hiccup activated his facedown card.

"I activate Half or Nothing! Thanks to this, you can either cancel the Battle Phase, or continue but your Dragon's strength is cut in half." he explained.

"I'm not a coward! I continue!" Nightshroud declared as the darkened flames enveloped the Berserker. (ATK: 2400-1200-3000)

Hiccup: 400

Nightshroud: 100

Hiccup panted heavily with a large smile on his face. "Still in it…"

Nightshroud exhaled loudly as he placed a facedown, "You might have saved yourself for now, but by activating Dragon Destruction I can cause some real damage." Nightshroud showed a card that had an image of dragons falling into a lava pit. "Thanks to this card by discarding three dragon Type monsters my hand your force to discard up to 3 cards for each Dragon I sent the graveyard." Nightshroud then discarded Attachment Dragon, Mask Dragon and Twin Headed Behemoth. "And of course for each of these dragons Red Eye's Darkness Dragon gained 300 attack points." (ATK: 3000-3900)

Hiccup reluctantly discarded the three cards in his hand.

"And I'll end my turn there and I'll finish you off next turn." He promised as Darkness Dragon's power returned. (ATK: 3900-5100)

As the Shadow Game went on, Wolflegs stood out at the lighthouse dock, gazing out at the sea. A light shaking on his chest made him reach down and take his Spirit Key into his hands. He looked at it, and then looked out at the island.

"Something's a miss," he thought aloud, eyes moving toward the volcano behind the Academy, hands tightening around the key, "A Shadow Rider… this Key is telling me that one is close…"

* * *

Wolflegs wasn't the only one feeling his Key react to the presence of a Shadow Rider. Speedfist stopped typing on his computer and looked down, startled as he felt his key vibrate against his chest.

"The Spirit Gate Key! It's shaking! But that would mean…"

* * *

Heather was making away to a bathroom when she felt her key vibrate against her chest.

"There goes my chance for nice calm and hot shower," she said.

* * *

In Snotlout's room, he glared at the little Duel Spirit who was currently dancing around his face.

"I'm warning you, stop dancing now!" he snapped.

Ojama Yellow pouted and continued to shake his behind, "Sorry, Boss. I'm just trying to stay in rhythm with that Spirit Key!"

"Actually…" Snotlout bolted upright, making Ojama fly off to the side, "What is that trembling?"

He looked down and grabbed the Key, staring at it as it continued to vibrate.

* * *

Another Key-Keeper who didn't seem disturbed by the shaking of the Key, or even noticed the Key, was Spitelout, who was peacefully sleeping in his room. His bed large and he was snoring the night away.

* * *

Back in his office, Stoick was worried about his decision of letting the seven students hold and defend the Spirit keys, specially giving one to his son… Spitelout and Gobber were adults who were old enough to know what they were getting into, so he didn't worry all that much about them.

' _What were you thinking, Stoick!? Getting your students involved in a battle with such stakes even your own son…but then, what other choice did you have? After all, if those Shadow Riders get a hold of the Sacred Beast cards…_ '

Stoick lifted his head from his desk, a solemn look on his face, "Then they'll be destroyed no matter what. We all will!" Then Gobber entered with a solemn look and he knew at once what was going on. "Don't tell me."

Gobber only nodded grimly.

* * *

"It's your move, Key-Keeper… that is, if you still have the strength to go on!"

Unable to hold his ground any longer, Hiccup dropped on to the glowing floor.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried out. Unable to see her friend go through so much pain, she turned to Nightshroud, "That's enough!" she shouted, looking ticked off, "This duel is over!"

The Shadow Rider looked at her, "Says who?"

"Says me and this!" Astrid held up her key, "I also have a Spirit Gate Key. Let my friends go and I'll let you duel me for it, and have my soul either way!" she offered.

"Astrid…" Ragnar gasped.

Nightshroud stared at her intently, his brow furrowing behind his mask, ' _I know you…_ '

"You can't lose, so let them go and deal with me!" Astrid pressured, stepping forward.

"No…" Hiccup slowly pushed himself off the field and climbed to his feet, "I won't let you, Astrid! This is my fight and I'll finish it. After all…" He lifted his head, a large smile on his face, "I can still win this!"

Astrid stared at her friend. "He's delirious…"

"No, I'm not! Just watch this!" Hiccup declared as he drew his next card.

"Hurry please!"

Hiccup and the others turned to see the orb that held Fishlegs was being splashed with hot lava, cowering and screaming as he tried not to be burned alive.

Hiccup gasped before he growled. "It's now or never…" he declared as he drew a card.

"You really think you have a chance?" Nightshroud asked mockingly. "I've destroyed your best cards and the only ones remaining I just too powerful for you to summon right now."

"Actually, there's one, I can summon right now," Hiccup smirked.

"What?"

"You heard. By discarding two Dragon Knight's to my graveyard I get to summon a very powerful monster." Hiccup then discarded Toothless and Stormfly. "Now I summon Dragon Knight Skull!"

Then suddenly appearing onto the field was the weak and sickly knight. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 0)

Nightshroud laughed. "After that production all you could do was summon that, he's a weakling."

"Well, he won't be weak for much longer, because he gained 300 attack and defence points for every Dragon in the Graveyard and in case you didn't know Dragon Knights are considered dragons in the Graveyard."

Then the spirits of all of Hiccup's Dragon Knights appeared behind Skull.

Nightshroud didn't look very concerned or worried. "So what, his attack points will only reach 3600, my Red Eye's is still far superior."

"I think you should have a closer look," said Hiccup calmly.

Nightshroud stared at his eyes widened in horror, because then he noticed the spirit of all of his Dragons appearing behind Skull. "What's going on? Why are all my Dragons there?"

Hiccup smirked. "You really need open up your ears, because I said every Dragon in the graveyard not just mine."

The spirits of both Hiccup and Nightshroud's monsters then entered into Skull and suddenly he reappeared in his bone-like armour and looking a lot healthier. (ATK: 0-6300/ DEF: 0-6300)

"Impossible!"

"All right!" Astrid yelled.

"Take this guy down, Hiccup!" Ragnar yelled.

"Now go, Skull, attack the Red Eye's Dragon with Dragon Bone Sword!" Hiccup commanded.

Skull pulled out his sword and charge straight towards Red Eye's and sliced the beast in half.

Hiccup: 400 (Winner)

Nightshroud: 0

The defeated Shadow Rider fell over, and then was engulfed in a ring of flame, screaming as the fire licked at him.

"At least… the guys are safe…" Hiccup whispered before falling down as well due to fatigue.

"Hiccup!" Astrid as fire erupted from beneath them.

As she reached him, she was surrounded by the searing flames. Ragnar braced himself as flames erupted from beneath them too. As their screams filled the night sky, the students and the Shadow Rider, disappeared into flashes of light.

* * *

All groggily opening their eyes, they were no longer above the lava pit. "What the—?" Fishlegs exclaimed when he took their surroundings into account, seeing they were on the outside by the volcano. "We're alive. We're alive."

"He did it," said Astrid, getting to her feet. "Hiccup did it." She smiled in pride for her friend.

"Where is he?" Ragnar wondered.

Astrid took a small glance before seeing him. "Over here," she called to them. They ran over to their unconscious friend.

"He's not looking so good," Ragnar pointed out.

"He's not moving. Come on Hiccup," Fishlegs begged as he got to his knees.

"Legs, he'll be fine," said Astrid after checking his pulse. "Tired maybe, but who could blame him?"

Astrid silently sighed in relief, glancing towards a card near Hiccup's hand. She took the card and turned it over to see the image of the card turn from black to that of a dragon-mask in front of chains, "Which is more than I can say for Nightshroud. At least we'll be safe from him for now…"

Looking ahead, she walked towards the other unmoving form nearby. The young man was lying on his stomach, his face hidden by his hair and arms. She knelt down as the Shadow Rider began to stir. Grunting, he opened one eye and looked straight at her.

"Uh… Astrid…"

Astrid gasped, "It… can't be!" She stared at the teen, not wanting to believe what she had just heard as tears began to swell in her eyes.

"Hiccup, hold on! We're coming!"

Ragnar and Fishlegs turned to see Snotlout, Speedfist and Wolflegs running up to them.

"What happened?" Snotlout demanded as they reached them.

Fishlegs looked away from Hiccup, "One of the Shadow Rider guys challenged Hiccup to a duel!"

Snotlout looked at the Slifer's unconscious body, "So, what happened? Did he win?!"

Ragnar nodded, "it was close and quite intense, but he was able to pull out a win

Wolflegs and Heater turned to Astrid's' direction, glaring at the form she was with, "So, is that him? The Shadow Rider?" Wolflegs asked, walking over to them.

As he approached, the two of them were surprised to see Astrid crying, hugging the body close to her.

"Astrid?" Wolflegs stared at her, eyes wide and confused as all hell.

Astrid sniffed and turned to them both, "Guys… it's him! It's really him! I don't understand how, but it's him! I thought we had lost him, but he's back… he's finally back!" she sobbed.

"What are you talking about?" Heather asked carefully, "Who's back?"

"Look at his face!" Astrid pleaded, moving away from the body to show them better, "It's my brother!"

Wolflegs' eyes went wide at the tall boy with blonde hair. The same boy that was in the photo in the abandoned dorm so long ago.

"Agnar…?" Wolflegs muttered.

Heather just stared. "No way."

The others came up behind them, Hiccup being carried by Ragnar.

"It wasn't him before," Astrid sniffed again, "Whatever darkness had a hold on him, that card took it away once Hiccup beat him! He's back… He's back!"

The sun began to peek over the horizon, lighting up the area. Wolflegs looked at Agnar who lay in his sister's arms. Then, he looked back at Hiccup who was passed out on Ragnar's shoulders.

"If this is how it is when you win a Shadow Game with the Shadow Riders, just think what it'd be like if you lose. The sun may be rising now, but it will fall again soon and when it does… we must be ready!"

* * *

Dragon Sacrifice

Spell Card

Select one Dragon-Type on your side of the field that has four stars or less and send it to the graveyard. Then draw one card for every one of its levels.

Card image: Meteor Dragon shielding Red Eye's Black Dragon from a sword

Dragon Destruction

Spell Card

Send up to Three Dragon-Types Monsters from your hand to the Graveyard and for each one sent the Graveyard your opponent is forced to discard one card from their hand.

Card image: picture of dragons falling into a lava pit.


	31. Field of Screams Part 1

On a dark lake, as a crescent moon hung in the air, a long boat drifted across dark waters covered in fog. A flock of bats beat their leathery wings as they flew over the boat. In the long vessel, a large and heavy coffin lay.

The coffin's lid creaked open and a woman with crimson-red lips sat up, taking in the night air. She looked at her bats, and then looked ahead, a wicked smile crossing her face as a dark laugh escaped her lips.

* * *

Hiccup bolted upright, waking up from that nightmare he just had. As soon as he sat up, he winced and clutched his chest.

"Hiccup!" Ragnar practically jumped out of his seat next to Hiccup's bed as his friend woke up, "Are you all right?!"

The Slifer opened his eyes and panted, still holding his chest, "Weird dream… I think I saw a girl…"

"A girl?" Ragnar blinked.

"You must be feeling a lot better to be dreaming about girls."

Both Slifers turned to see Miss Gothi walk into view from behind a curtain, a smile on her face.

"I can think of one go on his mind," said Ragnar.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "How is Nightsh—" Hiccup stopped himself, "Astrid's brother?" he asked her.

Miss Gothi sighed and looked to her right where Astrid was sitting at Agnar's bedside, solemn look on her face.

"I'm afraid they haven't woken up yet, but the good news is they're in stable condition," she reported.

Astrid looked up at Hiccup. "Nice to see your up."

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"About a day," said Ragnar. "Though I'm quite surprised that you're a wake after what you've been through."

Astrid then approached Hiccup and Ragnar made room for her. She then did something quite shocking, she punched him hard on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Hiccup yelled rubbing his arm. "What did you do that for?"

"That's was for putting yourself in danger," she said crossly.

"That girl is one-of-a-kind," said Toothless smoking slightly as he appeared.

' _Laugh it up, Toothless_ ,' Hiccup thought.

Astrid then did something even more shocking, she kissed him on the cheek. "And that's for everything else."

Hiccup just stared at her as she made her way back to a brother's bedside. He then noticed a strange look that Ragnar and Toothless were giving.

"What are you looking at?" he said.

* * *

On a body of dark water, the long boat from Hiccup's dream drifted silently. The woman from the coffin looked ahead, and then raised her arm to the night sky, her bracelets clinking together.

"Go, my minions!" she hissed, "Find me my prey so we can succeed where Nightshroud have failed!" The woman held a thorny red rose to her breasts and smiled as she watched her winged vassals fly off into the night sky.

* * *

Among the classes and dorms, a lot of rumours were going around lately…

"Hey, you hear about the vampire?"

"…a vampire?"

"Dude, I saw her with my own two eyes! Or at least… my roommate did. She's got these gigantic fangs!"

"Wait, you're saying it's a she?"

"I'm so not kidding, a girl vampire!"

"She better stay away from my boyfriend."

* * *

It became so popular, even Stoick caught wind of it; and because of that, he gathered some of the Key Keepers to his office to discuss it.

As soon as he heard it, Snotlout backed away, looking pretty freaked out, "Vampire?!"

Stoick nodded, "I'm afraid the rumours aren't rumours after all,"

"This just gets better and better," said Ragnar.

"No kidding," Heather agreed.

"Puh-lease!" Spitelout scoffed, "It's just a practical joke!"

"A joke?" Speedfist asked sceptically, "It wasn't a joke that put Hiccup in the hospital."

Wolflegs nodded slowly, "Do you think that this vampire woman is a Shadow Rider?" he asked his Headmaster.

"Perhaps…" Stoick looked to his cohorts.

"First the guy who dresses up as a dragon and now a vampire," said Gobber shaking his head. "Are these guys ever just normal?"

"Since when have things ever been normal around here?" Ragnar asked.

Gobber looked at him and nodded. "Point taken."

"I've away, we must keep an eye out for anything strange," said Stoick

Snotlout, Speedfist, Wolflegs and Gobber nodded while Spitelout looked rather nervous about the situation.

"Hmph… let's see this vampire girl try to get the drop on the Snot."

* * *

Snotlout sat in his Slifer Dorm room, his old Obelisk Blazer hanging on a hook nearby in plastic and his deck out before him. He was looking through his deck, checking to see if he should take anything out or add anything in case the vampire chick came after him. He was so busy looking at his cards, he didn't even notice a small bat hanging in the rafters above him, eyes glowing red.

* * *

Speedfist sat at his desk, looking through all of his decks. He had made them equal in power, but wasn't sure which one could serve a better purpose against this possible Shadow Rider. He too, was too busy to notice a vampire bat watching him.

* * *

Heather sitting on her bed cross-legged as she looked at her cards. Unbeknownst to her a vampire that was keeping its beady little eyes on her.

* * *

Wolflegs sat in his dorm room, fanning out his deck. As he did, another bat watched him from his open balcony window.

* * *

"A vampire? What's next, the Boogeyman?"

Spitelout huffed and sat down at his desk inside his large office, his deck in front of him. He rolled his eyes, "Who on Midgard would believe such nonsense?"

He didn't notice a bat peeking over a window slit nearby.

* * *

Gobber was in his room at the Red Dorm doing some adjustments on his prosthetic arm.

"Have to make sure this thing is in working order," he said doing some adjustments on his arm.

He was so busy with his work that he didn't notice the vampire bat attaching itself on his ceiling and keeping its eyes upon him as he works.

* * *

Astrid rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. She had been at Agnar's side for a long time now. For a change, and to stretch her legs, she rose from her stool and walked over to Ragnar.

"Hey, how's Hiccup doing?" she asked quietly, looking at the sleeping Slifer.

Ragnar lowered his head, "He hasn't said anything since last night," he said sadly.

Astrid frowned slightly, "Oh…"

"How's your brother, Astrid?" Ragnar asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

Astrid shook her head, "Pretty much the same. But he'll get better, I know it! He's a fighter, you know?"

Ragnar nodded, "I know."

"So, Heather told me I there's a vampire around the campus."

"Yeah, but after what we've been through is it truly a surprise?"

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point, but still… a vampire?"

Ragnar shrugged. "Let's just hope the next one isn't a werewolf."

"I just hope Hiccup gets better soon. We may need him to take on this Shadow Rider," said Astrid.

What the two of them didn't notice was that a bat had been staring at them, hearing the whole thing.

* * *

In a large bathroom, lying leisurely in a big bathtub, the 'vampire' woman watched as a bat fluttered into the room. She turned her head slightly, smiling at her pet, and held out her hand, urging it to come to her.

She giggled as the bat landed on her finger, "My precious, what have you brought me today?" she purred.

The bat's eyes started to glow a bright red and its owner's eyes began to glow the same colour.

Images of the Key-Keepers came to her mind's eye, making her smile wide.

"Hmm… so this is our opposition?" she mused, "Who shall it be?"

She watched as the faces of the Key-Keepers come and go until she caught sight of one, one with blonde hair and a firm, serious face.

"You… you will be my first," She whispered in delight.

* * *

That night, as the rest of the Academy went to be with uneasy feelings, the Key-Keepers returned to Sheppard's office to report what they had done since that morning.

"Good news, Chancellor," said Snotlout with a smug smirk on his face, "I searched the whole campus and there's no—"

"VAMPIRE!"

Everyone turned around as Fishlegs ran into the room, his face very pale.

"You were saying?" said Heather.

Fishlegs stopped before crashing into Stoick's desk. He panted, trying to catch his breath, "I saw her! She's at the lake!"

The Key Keepers all gasped.

* * *

The key-keepers, minus Hiccup, Ragnar and Astrid, along with Fishlegs as their guide, walked through the woods for a short while, coming to the lake's edge. A crescent moon hung in the air and a light fog covered the area. A figure stood just a few feet away.

"Is this the spot?" Wolflegs asked his brother.

"Yeah, look…"

A roll of carpet came out of the middle of the lake, unrolling to the ground.

"I think she's expecting us," said Speedfist.

"What makes you say that?" said Heather.

Spitelout grunted, "At least it's the red-carpet treatment," he commented, looking at the carpet roll just as it became totally flat.

"Blood red, too," Wolflegs added, "It's fitting for a vampire, don't you think?"

"She certainly has a flair for the dramatic," said Gobber.

"So, what now?" Speedfist asked.

"Now we face her," Wolflegs reasoned.

Snotlout nodded, "Yeah, but who is gonna be…?"

As if on cue, Gobber's arm flared up and shoved Spitelout out of the line, ahead of the others.

Fishlegs crossed his arms, watching his teacher, "Oh wow, you are so brave, Doctor Spitelout!"

"We'll be right behind you," said Speedfist supportively.

"Sure them what you can do Dad," said Snotlout

Spitelout spun around glaring mostly at Gobber, "Hey, I have an idea… let's draw straws to see who goes first!" He offered, then frowned, tapping his chin, "But wait, we don't have any straws. I know, I'll go get them, just don't follow me!"

"Sorry Spitelout," Heather shook his head, "But like it or not, you're up first."

Spitelout muttered something under his breath. It was obvious that he didn't want to be there.

* * *

Fishlegs burst into the infirmary, startling Astrid and Ragnar, "Spitelout's gonna duel the vampire lady!"

Ragnar rose from his seat, "out of all the people it had to be Spitelout," he groaned.

"Yeah," Astrid got to her feet as well, "Spitelout may talk a big game, but he plays a terrible one!"

Hiccup looked at his friends, a look of concern plastered on his face.

"I better head down there," said Ragnar.

"I should go with you," said Astrid.

"No, someone should hear with Hiccup and besides your brother needs you."

Astrid nodded reluctantly and Ragnar left the room.

* * *

Spitelout stood in front of the others, facing the long path of red carpet that lay above the lake's surface, humming to keep his composure as best he could.

"Yo, Spitelout, what's the hold up?"

The head of Obelisk glared at Heather, "If you're in such a hurry, why don't you go first?!" he hissed just before a strong wind came out of nowhere.

They all turned back to the lake to see the fog lifting and a boat floating not too far away. A tall, beautiful woman stood on the boat, her blood red dress clinging to her like a second skin. With her long black hair, glistening in the moonlight…

"Gentlemen and lady," she greeted. Her voice was thick with a strange accent, "Why don't I just come to you?"

She stepped off her boat and started to walk elegantly down the red carpet, sending small ripples across the water with each step of her black heels. As soon as she reached the lake edge, she took one look at Spitelout and her face took a look of disgust.

"Who might you be?"

Spitelout gulped, "I'm your challenger," he replied shakily, really not wanting to have the honour of that title.

' _Hm, I don't think so…_ ' the vampire woman thought, glancing off to the side at Wolflegs, ' _I crave another…_ '

"You are not worthy," she sighed, turning back to Spitelout.

The head of Obelisk nearly lost his footing at the insult, "I beg your pardon?! I have a PhD in Dueling! That's nine years of duel school, you know!"

"Fine… if you are so eager to lose your Key, you may duel me," the woman bowed her head as a group of bats appeared out of nowhere behind her, "Camula, vampire mistress of the Shadow Riders!" Her eyes began to glow a bright red at the end of her introduction.

"So she's the vampire…" Gobber smiled slightly, "I need to get new horror movies."

Heather shook her head. "Men!"

Spitelout rolled his eyes, "Rubber bats and plastic teeth. You don't scare me!"

"Well perhaps this will. If you lose, not only do I get your Spirit Key, I get your soul…" Camula held up a small doll which looked like a voodoo doll, "Actually, this little doll does."

"You want to take his soul and the Key?!" Speedfist repeated, as if he misunderstood her.

Snotlout scowled, "Forget it!"

Crowler, however, smiled while the others looked panicky, "Is that all? Don't want something for your 'mummy' or even perhaps your pet werewolf for something to chew on?" he asked mockingly.

Camula smiled widely and evilly, "Be careful what you wish for, because it may just come true, Key-Keeper! Let's duel!" she hissed as Spitelout made his way to another part of the beach, away from the others.

Both Spitelout's duel vest and Camula's duel disk whirred to life. Camula's had a custom made disk that at first glance was like a giant bracelet. As it cut on, it grew out bat wings in the shape of Duel Monster Zones.

The two duellists drew their opening hands.

Spitelout: 4000

Camula: 4000

It was at that point that Ragnar appeared, he was slightly out of breath running for all the way from the campus.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"No, you're just in time," said Heather. She found when she saw it was just him. "Where the others?"

"Hiccup is still recovering and there's no way Astrid would abandon her brother."

Ragnar then turned just as the duel began.

"So, Key-Keeper, you say you don't believe in werewolves?" Camula drew and looked at her card, "Well, perhaps this will convince you. Rise, Zombie Werewolf!"

At her command, a large furry lycanthrope appeared on the field in torn pants and eyes glowing bright red, it's yellow teeth catching the moonlight. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200)

"I'll end my turn with a facedown," Camula finished, slipping a card into her strange duel disk.

Spitelout smirked, "Please, what do you take me for, some kind of amateur? That facedown is obviously a Trap and that fleabag is clearly the bait. Even so, I'll bite," he raised his hand as his card popped out of the deck area into his hand.

"You've bitten off more than you can chew, my dear. First, I play a Spell known as Ancient Gear Castle!" he paused as a large castle made of stone and metal chains rose up behind him, "It gives all of my Ancient Gear creatures an extra 300 attack points. Secondly," he held up a card, "I'll play the Ancient Gear Soldier in attack mode."

The Gear Soldier appeared on the field. (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1300)

He smiled as a large, metallic monster similar to his Ancient Gear Golem appeared, only this one was smaller and carried a machine gun on one arm.

"As I said, with the Castle out, all my Gear monsters gain 300 attack points!" (ATK: 1300-1600)

"Now Camula, I think it's time to give that slobbering, mangy mutt his shots!" Crowler pointed to the Zombie Werewolf, "Ancient Gear Soldier, attack with Rapid Fire Flurry!"

The Zombie Werewolf howled in pain as the Gear Soldier opened fire on him, ripping his furry body with shrapnel before exploding into a giant cloud of smoke.

Spitelout: 4000

Camula: 3600

Camula didn't look worried, in fact she was very calm, despite her monster being blasted to smithereens.

Wolflegs grinned at his teacher's success, "I guess Spitelout's more of a cat person."

"That was fun!" Spitelout practically squealed, "I should get out of the classroom more often!"

"On the contrary, you should study up…" Camula told him, the calm look on her face, "Then, you would know that my werewolf is coming back!"

She was right. With another howl, her Zombie Werewolf appeared back on her field, this time stronger than ever. (ATK: 1200-1700)

Spitelout stared at the beast, "But how?!"

"Ah, the living. I forget the ignorance of the beating heart," Camula smiled, "When Zombie Werewolf is attacked, I get to summon another from my deck, one with 500 more attack points!"

Ragnar groaned, "And he teaches us?"

Spitelout heard that comment and tried to keep his cool. He nodded to them, "Don't worry, everything is under control…" he turned to his opponent, slipping a card into his disk, "I'll place one card facedown and I believe it's your turn."

"Why thank you," Camula nodded as she drew her next card, "I summon Vampire Bat (800/800) in attack mode!"

Next to the lycanthrope, a group of large black bats appeared, all of their eyes glowing red as they screeched.

"Now, with my winged friend on the field, every Zombie monster I have gains 200 attack points!" (ATK: 800-1000) (ATK: 1700-1900)

Spitelout scoffed, "Don't the three of you look cute?" he taunted, "Now if you had bags, you could go trick or treating!"

"The only treat will be your demise!" Camula laughed, "Zombie Werewolf, go seek that Gear Soldier! Midnight Pounce!"

With a howl, her wolfen friend leapt and sank it's teeth into the metal hide of the Ancient Gear Soldier. The metal man exploded, sending the werewolf back to Camula's side of the field.

Spitelout: 3700

Camula: 3600

"Well, looks like your mutt still has some bite in him after all," Spitelout chuckled, "No matter, I still have more Life Points."

"Perhaps, although not for much longer! Vampire Bat, attack with Swarming Scourge!" Camula ordered.

The flock of bats screeched and soon, every one of them surrounded Crowler, biting and gnawing at his body, their fangs drawing blood with each bite.

' _I can actually feel their little teeth! This isn't some dueling hologram, this is real! But that means...that this is a real Shadow Game!_ ' Spitelout thought as he fell to his knees, clutching his head as the bats swarmed around him.

Spitelout: 2700

Camula: 3600

* * *

Those that stayed in the infirmary were watching the duel on Fishlegs' PDA.

"Aw man, Crowler's taking a beating!" Fishlegs moaned.

"No, he can't!" Astrid shook her head, eyes never leaving the screen, "If he loses, he'll lose his key and his soul!"

* * *

Camula laughed wickedly as her winged friends came back to her.

"For rubber bats, they pack quite a wallop don't they?" she asked, a large smile on her face.

Spitelout looked up at her, gritting his teeth as blood seeped through the numerous small holes on his body.

"Look, darling, you don't have to take this punishment," Camula shook her head, looking sympathetic, "Step down and I'll duel the one in white,"

Snotlout looked at Wolflegs, "Hear that? Sounds like you her type," he cracked.

"More like blood type," Gobber added.

"So how about it, darling?" Camula turned back to Spitelout, "Give me your student and I'll let you go free!" she offered.

"As tempting as your offer is…" Spitelout staggered to his feet, not looking very pleased, "I don't think so! I won't let you lay a finger on my students! Do you understand?! I am the leading professor at the most famous Duel Academy in the world and if you want to get to my pupils, you'll have to get through yours truly!"

Snotlout frowned at his dad, "But, you can barely stand, Dad!" he protested.

"Don't worry about me, boy-o…" Spitelout turned to them, smiling, "I still… have a deck in my hand, and a few… tricks up my sleeve. Like… this one!" he turned back to Camula, pushing a button on his duel disk, "I play my facedown known as Damage Condenser! It lets me summon a monster with attack points equal or less to the damage you just inflicted on me! In other words, the more pain you deal, the more hurt you feel!" Spitelout placed a card onto his disk, "Rise, Ancient Gear Soldier!"

Spitelout chuckled as his metal creation came to his side, (ATK: 1300-1600/DEF: 1300) "But he won't be around for long. I now summon the Ancient Gear Soldier to summon my own four-legged friend. The Ancient Gear Beast!"

A large metal hound made of old gears and armour plating appeared, eyes glowing with the energy that fuelled him. (ATK: 2000-2300/DEF: 2000)

"And you're about to see that he's well-trained!" Spitelout barked at the vampire, "Ancient Gear Beast, show that Zombie Werewolf who's top dog!"

"Don't do it!" Snotlout yelled, "If you win, she'll bring back the werewolf again! Hello!"

Spitelout turned to him, "Appreciate the advice, son, but you're forgetting his special ability. Ancient Gear Beast negates the effect of any destroyed monster…" he said, wagging his finger.

Speedfist smiled, surprised, "What a clever calculation!"

Gobber nodded, "Yes, good thinking!" he agreed.

"Now, attack Zombie Werewolf!"

The metal hound pounced onto the lycanthrope, making it yelp in pain as it bit into it's side. With a low howl, the werewolf was destroyed.

Spitelout: 2700

Camula: 3200

Spitelout laughed triumphantly, "If you'd like some help in duelling strategy, feel free to drop by my class!"

"Maybe Spitelout's lesson plans really do work," Ragnar thought aloud.

"Be quiet," Speedfist whispered, smiling a bit, "He'd only give us more homework."

"I don't know which is worse? The end of the world or Spitelout giving us more homework?" Heather joked.

"Nice move," Camula smiled as she drew her next card, "Pity you won't have many more," she said as the end tray of her duel disk opened up, "I play the a Field card known as Infernalvania!"

Spitelout stepped back, "You can't! You'll destroy everything with that!"

"Exactly. By discarding one Zombie-type monster from my hand, I can send every monster that's on the field straight to the Graveyard!" Camula explained.

Snotlout grinned, "True, but don't forget. By using Infernalvania, you're not gonna be able to Normal Summon your monsters anymore!"

"So what? Who says I need anymore monsters?" she cast a smug look at Spitelout, "Isn't that right?"

Spitelout glared at her, "Don't give me any of that!" he hissed, "I know all about that bat of yours!"

"But do your students?" Camula shot back, "Do they know my Vampire Bat can be made invincible simply by discarding another from my deck, or did you skip that chapter?" she held up a card, "But first, I'll sacrifice one of my Zombie monsters for Infernalvania!"

A man in a dark suit with blue hair appeared, but disappeared shortly after as the Infernalvania building behind Camula began to glow. Spitelout's Gear Beast and Camula's bat were both blown away.

"Now, by discarding another from my deck, I can keep this Vampire Bat on the field," Camula fanned out her deck, then sent a card into her Graveyard slot. Her bat returned in all its batty glory.

"Now, attack the good professor!" she hissed at her bat.

Once again, Spitelout was completely covered by the horde of bats.

"No! Not again!" he howled, "I can't take much more of this!"

"He needs our help!" said Wolflegs evenly.

"No! Stay back!" The Obelisk Headmaster continued to protect himself. "This is my duel… and my duel alone!" Spitelout looked at them, looking very worn out, "You must protect… your… keys…" he moaned before falling flat on his face.

Spitelout: 1700

Camula: 3200

Everyone watched in horror as their comrade fell, unable to duel.

"Spitelout!" Wolflegs called out to his professor, "We can't just stay here and do nothing!"

Camula smiled and turned to Wolflegs, "Yes, I completely agree with you darling. Come and save your professor, seeing as he can't save himself."

"WRONG!" a new voice yelled out.

Every other Keeper turned around to see Fishlegs carrying Hiccup on his back.

"Hiccup?!" Ragnar, Speedfist and Wolflegs said together, surprised to see him there.

Hiccup hopped off of Fishlegs shoulders and Ragnar grabbed his arm, "Spitelout can win this duel!"

"I know that voice…" Spitelout slowly opened an eye, looking at the group, "It's Slacker…"

"I know because I've duelled him, believe me, he can duel and he can beat you!" Hiccup turned to the fallen duelist.

"Get up, Spitelout and you're not through yet!"

Spitelout, hearing Hiccup's voice, somehow found the strength to get back onto his feet. He stumbled around before getting into a good position.

"I'm not giving up!" he spat at the vampire.

"Oh?" Camula raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Are you still here?"

"You had better believe it! I'm here to stay, too, missy!" Spitelout snapped, "You see, as much as I hate to admit it… HICCUP IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I CAN BEAT YOU, I CAN DUEL, AND I'M NOT THROUGH YET!"

"I wish you can share your confidence," said Ragnar.

"Yes, his Life Points are extremely low," Speedfist observed.

Wolflegs nodded, "To win, Spitelout would have to mount quite a comeback."

"And I don't know if he's up to it," said Heather.

Spitelout raised his hand to his duelling vest as a card popped out, "Now, let's duel!" he looked at his card and slapped it onto his disk, "I summon Ancient Gear Golem in attack mode!"

Everyone watched as his favourite Machine creature appeared, towering over Camula and her bat. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000)

"Check it! It's my dad's best monster!" Snotlout grinned.

Fishlegs frowned at the sight, "But where's the sacrifice?"

Wolflegs pointed to the building behind Spitelout, "It's on the field! The Ancient Gear Castle. When it's on the field, and you summon a monster with 'Ancient' in its name, you can sacrifice the Gear Castle and it counts as how many sacrifice as to how many monsters you've summoned so far," he explained.

The castle disappeared, and that left the Golem without a boost of points, but Spitelout didn't seem to care.

"Now, Ancient Gear Golem, attack Vampire Bat with Mechanized Melee!" he ordered, pointing to the flying rat.

Camula winced in pain as the Golem threw its metal fist through her bat, blasting it into pieces.

Spitelout: 1700

Camula: 1200

"Did you forget? My Vampire Bat can't be destroyed, but thanks to my Infernalvania, your Golem can!" she hissed.

Spitelout smirked, "I'm afraid you're mistaken, my dear."

"Huh?"

"What's he gonna do?" Snotlout asked.

"Oh… nothing…" Spitelout's smile widened, "Except destroy every Spell card on the field!" he held up a card, "Suffer the wrath of Heavy Storm!"

A very strong wind picked up, blowing away the facedown Camula had, including the Infernalvania Spell card. Soon, nothing but the two monsters remained on the field.

"Hmph, you must be a bore for your students… so predictable," Camula sighed in a disappointed tone.

"Please, you don't know what you're talking about," said Spitelout dismissively.

"Oh… don't I?!" Camula asked as her jaw stretched farther down than any other jaw possibly could. Large fangs on both top and bottom sets of teeth, a thick tongue sitting between her jaws, and fat muscles appearing on her flesh from her elongated jaw. She waved her arm to her card, "I play Zombie Bed!"

Spitelout glared at her, "You can't! I just destroyed that card!" he protested.

"Which is exactly what I wanted you to do!" she hissed.

"But why?!"

Wolflegs grit his teeth, "Of course, it's obvious! In order to be activated, Zombie Bed must be destroyed!"

"Very good, my darling. Now thanks to its effect, I get to bring back Zombie Werewolf in attack mode! Not only that, he gains the 200 point boost from my Vampire Bat!" (ATK: 1200-1400)

"Thanks to your card, you're completely defenceless!"

Snotlout's stared, wide-eyed, "She knows my dad's moves before he even makes it!"

The vampiress chuckled as her jaw shrank back to normal size, "It's so easy to know people's moves and decks when you have a hundred flying bats…" she took another card from her hand as a bat landed on her shoulder, "I play Book of Life. This resurrects my Vampire Lord. However, you cannot give live without taking it away, so I'll be taking your Ancient Gear Beast from your Graveyard so you can't use him again!"

The blue skinned vampire appeared on the field. (ATK: 2000-2200/DEF: 1500)

"Now, I'm removing Vampire Lord from play to summon Vampire Genesis!" Camula screamed as her gentleman vampire left the field and in his place, a huge, purple beast with strange wing-like appendages on its back appeared, eyes glowing red. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2100)

"Since Vampire Bat is still on the field, my Genesis' power gains 200 extra attack points!" (ATK: 3000-3200)

Spitelout looked at the monster, and nodded. He turned to the others, "My students! No matter what happens to me, always remember this… it's true, I may have been hard on you at times, but only because I believe in you. Therefore, if I fall here, there's still hope. I know that you all will rise!" he told them, voice breaking.

"Don't talk like that!" Wolflegs snapped at him.

Hiccup looked on at the man who tried so hard to throw him out of school, "This isn't good…"

"Have you finished your final lesson yet?" Camula asked impatiently, "Spitelout…?"

The Head of Obelisk Blue snapped his head to the annoying vampiress, "Excuse me, but that's Doctor to you!" he shouted.

Camula laughed heartily, believe it or not, "Very well. I'll put that on your tombstone as soon as I'm finished! Vampire Genesis, destroy his Golem!"

A purple mist emanated from the Genesis beast and surrounded itself around Spitelout's monster. The mist tore the Golem apart, dealing damage to Spitelout and his Life Points.

Spitelout: 1500

Camula: 1200

"Is that all?!" Spitelout barked at her, stumbling around, "I thought you Shadow Riders were supposed to be tough!"

"You want more?" Camula snickered, "Very well! Zombie Werewolf, attack him directly!"

Spitelout screamed in pain as the Werewolf raked it's razor-sharp claws along his chest, leaving four tear marks in his coat.

Spitelout: 100

Camula: 1200

"Had enough? Hear, try this as well! Vampire Bat, attack now!"

For the third and final time, the swarm of vampire bats surround Spitelout, biting and tearing at his body, drawing blood each time.

"Spitelout!" Hiccup yelled, not wanting it to end like this.

"Hiccup…" Spitelout slowly turned his head to the Slifer and gazed at him through the bat cloud, "Avenge me… my boy-o…"

With that, and with no strength left in his body, Spitelout fell to the ground, defeated.

Spitelout: 0

Camula: 1200 (Winner)

"His key is mine…" said Camula with a triumphant tone.

Snotlout glared at her, "No way…" he growled.

"We can't stop her. Spitelout lost the duel!" Hiccup reminded his comrade of the rules to the Keys and Spirit Gates.

Camula walked over, bent down and took the key from around Spitelout's neck. She looked at it briefly before it disappeared into dozens of lit orbs, "One down… eight more to go," she giggled, pulling out the rag doll from behind her, "Now, children… for my second prize."

Everyone watched as the both the doll she held in her hand and Spitelout's body began to glow with an unholy purple aura. The doll began to take an ugly shape and soon, it looked like a horrifying version of a chibi Spitelout.

Camula shook her head, then dropped it, "Dolls are pretty… this is decidedly not. It's garbage now!"

"That does it!" Hiccup growled at the disrespect. He was about to step forward, but a duel disk got in his way. He looked at the owner, "Wolflegs…?"

Wolflegs stared long and hard at Camula. "She's mine, Hiccup."

Camula smiled as a large dark castle appeared in the fog behind her, "I'm afraid I must say farewell to you all for now, my children."

"We'll find you!" Speedfist swore to her.

"And duel!" Snotlout threw in.

Again, the Vampiress smiled, "Children… that is exactly what I'm hoping for," she cackled before she vanished into thin air, her cold laughter echoing into the night sky.


	32. Field of Screams Part 2

The next day, thick rainclouds covered the sky over Duel Academy, which sort of fit the mood around the campus after what had happened last night.

Hiccup was laying back down on his bed in the infirmary. "Once I get better I'm gonna take Camula down. I mean, taking that Spirit Key is one thing, but taking Spitelout's soul, too?! Sure he might've been a little uptight, but no one deserves that."

"Easy, Hiccup…" Ragnar told him from his bedside, "You should rest!"

Gobber nodded, "Ragnar is right. We need to be at our best, because if we aren't, it will be our souls that will be sealed in those dolls and our bodies will be… catatonic!"

"The worst part is, since Camula beat Spitelout and took his key, she only needs eight more to open up the Spirit Gates and steal the Sacred Beasts cards," Speedfist reminded them.

Astrid nodded and turned to her comatose brother, "If that happens, it won't be our souls that will be taken, but it will be everyone in the world!"

"And that's not a day I want to look forward to," said Heather.

"I'm going to take down that vampire which after what she did to my father," said Snotlout clenching his fists. "Besides, Hiccup is in no fit state to face, one of us has to face Camula."

"And by 'one of us' you mean you?" Speedfist Bastion looked at him, "I'm sorry Snotlout, but I'm not entirely convinced that you're the man for the job. I should go."

"You?" Snotlout asked in disbelief. "I should be the only one with the right to face."

"Arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to help anyone," said Ragnar.

"Ragnar is right. What we need is to work together!" Astrid stood up from her chair, "The Spirit Gate Keys and saving Doctor Spitelout is all that matters!"

Everyone else nodded.

"I'm afraid I'll have to sit out. At least until I get better…" Hiccup ground.

"You're the most stubborn person I've ever met," said Astrid shaking her head.

Hiccup shrugged. "I get it from my dad."

Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, Fishlegs turned to see Wolflegs leave the infirmary. Quickly, Fishlegs shot out of his seat and walked out of the room, following his brother.

"Wolf?" he called out after him in the hallway, "Where you going, big bro? Didn't we just decide to work together?" he asked, "What gives?"

His elder brother looked at him, smiled slightly, then started to walk down the hallway again, "If protecting those keys and saving Spitelout's soul is all that matters, then you know where I'm going, Fishlegs."

Fishlegs stood there alone in the hallway, watching his older brother walk away. He wasn't the only one watching, however. Another of Camula's bats was hanging just outside the window.

* * *

In her castle, Camula lay in her bathtub, enjoying the soothing bubbles. She opened her eyes as an image of Wolflegs crossed her mind's eye yet again.

"The one I crave is coming," she smiled before blowing a bubble out of her hand, "And I'm ready…"

* * *

Snotlout sat on his bed, looking through his deck again as his annoying Duel Spirit floated nearby.

"Hey, long time, Boss!" Ojama Yellow greeted, moving in front of Snotlout's face, "How're things?"

Snotlout growled, grabbed the Duel Spirit and chucked him into a nearby flat-screen TV, "They were fine, until you showed up," he muttered.

"Aw, now it's great?"Ojama Yellow phased through the TV, smiling, "Thanks, Boss, you really know how to make me feel good," he flew back over to his partner, "So what are you doing, arranging your deck? Can I help?"

Once again, Snotlout batted the annoying spirit away from him. Ojama Yellow flew across the room and landed on the Crowler doll that lay on the desk nearby.

"Ow! Hey, fragile here!"

Ojama Yellow turned around, hearing a familiar voice. He wasn't sure about it, so he poked the Spitelout doll, just to check

"What are you doing?! Stop!" the doll screeched, but began to laugh as Ojama Yellow began to tickle it, "N-no! Please, stop!"

"Boss!" Ojama Yellow turned back to Snotlout. "This doll's alive!"

Snotlout looked at him, then at the doll, "What?"

"It's alive!" his spirit partner repeated, "I swear!"

The Slifer walked over and picked up the doll, "Doesn't look alive to me…"

"Hey! Ease up on the grip, will you?!" the Spitelout-doll snapped, "If you keep squeezing me I drive ahead so hard the ground you will be able to see the sun!"

"Oh yeah…" Snotlout slowly shook his head, "That's my dad alright."

A loud flapping sound made both Snotlout and Ojama Yellow look to the side, at the window. Snotlout darted over and pulled back the heavy curtain away to see a large group of bats hovering outside, each one staring at him with their glowing red eyes.

Snotlout grit his teeth and darted out of his dorm room, "It's started again!"

* * *

Gobber looked out from his office, and frowned worriedly at the bats, "She's back…"

* * *

Speedfist caught sight of the bats and stormed out of the Ra Yellow dorms, duel disk on his arm and key around his neck.

* * *

"Run!" Hiccup ordered, climbing onto Fishlegs' back.

"Actually, piggybacking," Fishlegs offered.

Astrid put her hands on her hips, staring at her friends, "Whatever it is, we better do it, because I get the feeling that vampire is getting ready to bite again."

"And we won't let anyone else be taken." Heather added.

"Then we better get moving," said Ragnar.

* * *

Everyone met up at the lakeside, looking up at the castle on the water's surface.

"Everyone ready?" Wolflegs asked quietly, the first one to be there.

"I am," Hiccup nodded.

"I'm always ready," said Snotlout.

"Ready and willing," Speedfist said with a curt nod.

"Let's do this," said Gobber clinching his robotic fist.

"I'm good," said Heather with a smile.

"No way I'm missing this," said Ragnar.

"I'm here, ain't I?" Astrid asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Are we gonna go or what?!"

* * *

They had entered the castle a short while before and were now walking through the torch-lit corridors, Wolflegs taking the lead of the group.

After a short while of walking, the group went into a huge room, one that resembled a ballroom. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling and on two ends of the room, a balcony jetted outward, as if to overshadow the floor by just a bit.

"Ah, right on time!"

Wolflegs stepped forward, eyes scanning the room, "CAMULA!"

"Looking for me, darling?"

Wolflegs, as well as everyone else, looked up at the balcony to see Camula walking into view, a calm look on her face.

"You bet we are!" Hiccup yelled, wincing a bit, "We want Spitelout back!"

"That's right," Snotlout stepped up beside Wolflegs, "So hand him over!"

"Or else!" Speedfist threatened, joining the two of them.

Camula giggled and shook her head dismissively, "I have no interest in little schoolboys…"

"She must mean you," said Speedfist, looking at Snotlout.

"No, she means you!" Snotlout shot back.

"Cut it out, both of you!" Heather yelled, smacking the back of both their heads in quick fashion.

Camula shook her head and her eyes lingered over to Wolflegs, who was staring her down, "Are you ready, darling?"

Wolflegs nodded, "Let's duel…"

Fishlegs gulped, looking from both the Vampire to his older sibling, "Good luck, bro," he whispered fearfully.

"He should be fine, remember how he badly beat Hiccup?" said Ragnar and quickly looked at Hiccup. "No offence."

"None taken," said Hiccup, getting small laughs out of everyone.

Lightning crashed and lit the entire room as Wolflegs made his way up to the empty balcony, the one opposite of Camula, his duel disk at the ready.

"Let us review. If you win, you get Spitelout's soul back, and I'll be on my way," Camula stated, "and I'll be on my way. But if I win, I get your soul, your Spirit Gate Key, and I get to continue me quest to unlock and awaken the Sacred Beasts," she continued as her custom duel disk whirred to life, the wing-like tray folding out.

"Duel!" they cried as they drew their hands.

Wolflegs: 4000

Camula: 4000

"I like to lead," Camula drew her card, only to place it sideways on her disk, "I play Vampire Lady in defence mode, and I lay one card facedown...that's all for me," she said as a very pale woman in a purple dress appeared on the field, kneeling. (ATK: 1550/DEF: 1550)

"Really? Shame…" Wolflegs muttered as he drew his card, "Because it won't be enough to protect you from what I have planned." he held up the card he just drew.

Camula raised an eyebrow, "Playing Power-Bond?"

Wolflegs nodded, "This allows me to fuse Machine-Type monsters and I have the perfect ones in mind. My three Cyber Dragons!" he paused as his powerful and loyal mechanical serpents appeared before him, "Now unite, and form the almighty Cyber End Dragon!"

From the three Cyber Dragons, his mech-hydra was born, its three heads shining as the lightning filled the room. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Wolflegs just brought out his most powerful monster on his very first turn!" Astrid gasped.

' _Wow… that's not like Wolf. He usually feels out an opponent before playing Power-Bond_.' Fishlegs looked from the Cyber Dragon and to his brother, ' _It's like just using it instead of playing it. I hope he knows what he's doing…_ '

"My, I like your aggressiveness, but Power-Bond has its risks," Camula reminded him, "Are you certain that you can handle all of the consequences?"

"She's right," said Ragnar, "At the end of the turn, Wolflegs takes damage equal to Cyber End Dragon's original attack points, and that adds up to 4000 big ones, but that may be a risk he's willing to take, because now Power-Bond double Cyber End Dragon's attack points!"

Cyber End Dragon roared in power. (ATK: 4000-8000)

"8000 points?!" Camula hissed.

"I don't think I have to worry about consequences after this turn," Wolflegs spat at her, "Now, Cyber End Dragon, attack Vampire Lady! Super Strident Blaze!"

The mech-hydra roared and it's three heads fired three separate beams of great power, and as they flew towards the Vampire Lady, they combined to create a huge stream of energy.

"Forget about my facedown?!" Camula shouted over the noise as her card was revealed, "I play the Trap, Red Ghost Moon! Now, darling, by discarding one Zombie-Type monster from my hand to the Graveyard, your monsters attack points are added straight to my Life Points and our little battle ends right here and now!"

Wolflegs grit his teeth as Camula began to show off a golden aura, thanks to the Trap and his own monsters attack.

The vampiress laughed, "That's 8000, plus the 4000 I already had, coming to a total of 12,000 Life Points!"

"Wrong!" Wolflegs held up another card, "I play the Spell card De-Fusion, disassembling my Cyber End Dragon and leaving you…"

"Absolutely nothing!" Speedfist smiled, "Red Ghost Moon's target is gone, so it's effect is cancelled!"

"My points!" Camula watched as the aura around her disappeared before her Life Points could be increased.

Fishlegs smiled as the Cyber End Dragon disappeared and the three Cyber Dragons came back, "You know what else? Since Power-Bond is gone…"

"He won't have to pay in points for using it!" Ragnar whooped.

Hiccup nodded, "Now that's playing a card!"

"I'll end with one facedown," Wolflegs finished, slipping a card underneath one of his Cyber Dragons.

Camula chuckled, "Oh, my darling. I can see now why you're ranked the top duellist at Duel Academy."

"Actually, you haven't seen anything yet," said Wolflegs quietly.

"Well, I hope not. Wolflegs dear, precious, we haven't even begun to duel, just yet!" Camula smiled wickedly, "I'm going to have so much fun with you."

Fishlegs gulped, "I don't think I'm gonna like her kind of fun…"

"You and me both…" Heather agreed.

"Now then, shall we?" Camula drew her next card, "First, I'll sacrifice Vampire Lady to summon Vampire Lord!"

The undead woman in violet disappeared and in her place, a handsome man in a dark violet suit and cape appeared, his skin white as a sheet. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500)

"Now, I'll sacrifice him to summon Vampire Genesis!"

The handsome vampire prince bowed before vanishing and was replaced by the horrid, winged behemoth Vampire that took down Spitelout and his monsters the night before. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2100)

"Darling Wolflegs, I promised you some fun, didn't I?" Camula tilted her head slightly, "Looks like we'll have it after all. Are you excited?"

Wolflegs's only reply was the firm stare and silent treatment.

Camula scowled, "You're such a bore… Vampire Genesis, attack!"

Wolflegs looked up at the Vampire as it began to glow a dark purple, "As much fun as this is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt it with my facedown card. The Trap called Attack Reflector Unit!"

"A Trap?!"

"One that's evolutionary," said Wolflegs as one of his Cyber Dragon's began to be covered by panels and panels of mirror glass, "Attack Reflector Unit evolves my Cyber Dragon into the Cyber Barrier Dragon!"

The Cyber Barrier Dragon looked much like its counterpart, except it had a large cuff-like apparatus around its neck and the tip of its tail looked like a sharp-ended probe from a science fiction movie. (ATK: 800/DEF: 2800)

"Also, when the Cyber Barrier Dragon is in attack mode, once per turn, its special power allows me to negate the attack of one of your monsters! So, your Vampire Genesis' attack can go right back to where it started!"

Vampire Genesis' dark mist shot from its master and flew towards Barrier Dragon, only to be stopped by a green light that emanated from the Machine monster. The mist bounced off and returned to the other side of the field, leaving Wolflegs safe… for now.

"How dare you!" Camula screeched.

Hiccup looked down at Fishlegs, "Your brother's got moves, Legs! No wonder he beat me.., although it was close."

"Yeah…" Fishlegs nodded.

"It's my turn," Wolflegs drew his card, "Now, I play the Spell card Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two more cards from my deck." Wolflegs drew the new cards and turned one of them over, "Next, I'll activate the Spell card Photon Generator Unit! By sacrificing my remaining two Cyber Dragons, I can summon the Cyber Laser Dragon!"

His two Cyber Dragons vanished and a new Dragon appeared. It had a longer, sleeker, and more silver body than the others, but it had that round-tipped tail sort of like the Barrier Dragon. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800)

"With Laser Dragon out, once every turn, I can destroy one monster that has equal or more attack points than its own!"

"I bet you talk to all the girls like that," Camula mused.

"No, just the ones I really don't like!" Wolflegs spat, "Now, Laser Dragon! Let loose with Blue Lightning Lash!"

His Laser Dragon curled its tail up and aimed the tip at Genesis. A beam of bright blue energy shot out of the Dragon's tail and struck Genesis directly in the chest, destroying it easily.

"Now, attack her directly!" Wolflegs ordered, "Blue Lightning Blast!"

Another beam of blue energy, this time from the Dragon's mouth, soared through the air. Camula screamed as the energy beam hit her dead on, knocking off a good chunk of her Life Points.

Wolflegs: 4000

Camula: 1600

"Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about Cyber Barrier Dragon. Attack, with Sonic Shriek!"

Cyber Barrier Dragon opened its mouth and an ear-piercing scream rippled through the night air, a group of bright green rings blasted outward, hitting Camula so hard, she flew back into the wall behind her.

Wolflegs: 4000

Camula: 800

"All right, with the way he's duel he can win next turn," Ragnar smiling.

"Yeah, I've never seen anyone duel like him," said Hiccup.

"Now you guys see why my brother's never lost!" said Fishlegs proudly, looking at his sibling.

Wolflegs slipped another card into an empty slot, "I'll end my turn with a facedown," he said quietly.

Camula rose to her feet. She slowly made her way back to her place on the balcony, head low, "Darling… you do realize you're forcing me to show my ugly side?" she asked as she lifted her head up, showing her elongated jaw, long sharp fangs, and thick red tongue.

Camula kept her face even as she drew her card. She looked at it, then back at Wolflegs, "It's only going to get uglier. I play the Spell card Illusion Gate!" she declared as a stone door and archway rose up from the floor behind her.

Wolflegs looked at the door, confused, "Illusion Gate?"

"Wow…" Hiccup looked over Fishlegs head, "I've never heard of it. You guys know what it does?"

Speedfist shook his head, "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"Same here," said Ragnar slightly concerned.

Gobber frowned slightly, "I think we're about to find out."

"Behold!" Camula laughed as the golden choker around her neck began to glow, just as the gate opened up all the way, letting in a bright light, "First, this Spell card destroys every monster on your field!"

Wolflegs covered his eyes as the light shined so brightly, both his Dragons were blasted into smithereens.

"But that's not all," Camula continued as she somehow split into two separate copies of herself, "This card has twin functions. You see, this card allows me to summon any monster that either of us has used during this entire duel."

"What?" Wolflegs blinked, not sure if he heard right.

"Even though you've de-fused Cyber End Dragon after only one turn, you did use him during this duel!"

Wolflegs scoffed, "Please. There's no card that's powerful enough to let you make a move like that. There must be some kind of catch!"

"Yes. But it's just a tiny one. After using Illusion Gate, should I lose this duel, I must offer up a soul to the Sacred Beasts!"

Speedfist raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?"

"Well, good!" Snotlout growled. "It's what you gets for taking my dad's!"

"Beg your pardon?" Camula looked down at the audience, "I said a soul, not my soul! You see, in the Shadows, it's all the same to the Sacred Beasts…" her eyes moved towards the largest member of the group, "Fishlegs…"

Fishlegs' eyes widened, "Huh?!"

"Oh, yes," Camula smiled, "Those Beasts will find your soul to be a tasty treat I'm sure!"

Wolflegs eyes widen and he looked at his brother. "Fishlegs! Run!" he screamed.

"I don't think so!"

Before Fishlegs could make an attempt to run away, the duplicate of Camula flew down and snatched, which was quite a feat itself, him making him drop Hiccup. The others tried to grab him, but were too late. They watched helplessly as she held him close to her as she returned to the balcony.

"Fish!" Wolflegs cried.

Fishlegs lowered his head, weakened by the magic of the Illusion Gate and the duplicate Camula, "Sorry, Wolf…"

"Now…" Camula raised her hand to the sky and light began to shine forth from the Gate once again, "I summon the almighty Cyber End Dragon!"

Fishlegs cried out as a yellowish aura surrounded him, then poured outward as the three-headed metallic Dragon returned, only this time, to Camula's side of the field.

"Fislhegs…" Wolflegs grit his teeth as his brother slumped in the Vampiress' arms, drained of energy.

"Whatever will you do, darling?" Camula taunted, "I have your most powerful monster, and you're little brother…" she looked at the aura before it disappeared, "Actually, I'd think they're one and the same, now. After all, even if you should win back the Cyber End Dragon, you'd be losing little Fishlegs' soul as well." she giggled as her twin pet Fishlegs' hair. "So, as I said… whatever will you do?"

' _The facedown card on my field is Call of the Haunted_.' Wolflegs looked at the card, paused in mid-draw. _'If I activate it to resurrect Cyber Barrier Dragon, I can stop that Cyber End Dragon and win the duel! Camula will be defeated and we'll be that much close to keeping the world safe from those Sacred Beasts cards, and in exchange, we just lose one soul… my brother's…_ ' Wolflegs looked back at the other side of the field, lowering his head. ' _The choice is clear_.'

"So what will it be? Save the world, or save your brother's soul? Even though it means losing yours?" Camula asked, hand on her hip.

Fishlegs groaned and lifted his head, looking straight as his brother, "Wolf… go ahead. Do it and win the duel…"

"What?" Wolflegs stared at his brother shocked at those words.

"No…" Hiccup gasped.

"My soul is a small price to pay to beat Camula. After all, if she wins, she gets your Spirit Key and you know what that means. The Shadow Riders will be that much close to releasing those Demons. Besides, Wolflegs, if one of us has to go down, it might as well be me. I may you have the skills, the smarts, everything! Anyway, Big Bro, at least this way, I can be remembered besides being your little brother. This way, Wolflegs, I'll be the one who gets to be the hero, the one who saves the day…"

Wolflegs remained quiet and noticed a tear fall from his brother's sad eyes.

"After all, we both know that I wouldn't have been able to do it by duelling. It's just like you said… I never belonged here!"

"I did say that before… but since you've proved me wrong. You do belong here."

Fishlegs lifted his head, "Huh?"

"I love you, Syrus. Never forget that. I'll miss you, Little Brother… farewell." Wolflegs lowered his duel disk and looked at Camula, "I stand down!" he declared loudly.

Fishlegs' eyes widened, "Wolf, what are you doing?!"

"So be it! Cyber End Dragon, destroy him!" Camula ordered, pointing towards the Obelisk.

Fishlegs and the others could only watch in horror as the three-headed Dragon blasted its own master with its powerful blast.

"No!" Fishlegs struggled to get free, "Take me instead!" he pleaded.

Wolflegs: 0

Camula: 800 (Winner)

Lightning flashed once again as Wolflegs' Spirit Key fell from his neck onto the floor, glowing before vanishing from sight.

Camula's Illusion Gate and her double disappeared, freeing Fishlegs from their hold on him.

"Big Brother!"

Wolflegs fell to his knees and his eyes grew dull and dark as Camula pulled out another ragdoll. Wolflegs' body glowed with the same light that took Spitelout the previous night, soon it disappeared. Camula looked down at the doll to see that it had taken on Wolflegs' features and even a little blazer and blond hair.

"Darling, you're mine at last. A bit smaller and a tad less talkative, but a darling trophy nonetheless…" She said as she caressed the doll.

Everyone watched as Camula disappeared in a swirling cloud of dust and smoke, laughing as she departed.

* * *

After a hasty retreat, everyone managed to find some rest on the banks around the lake. Fishlegs stared at the castle in sadness.

"Just like that… he's gone…" he whimpered, tears welling up.

Everyone looked at him, all of the saddened by the loss of the school's best student. The strongest of the group had sacrificed himself for the sake of his little brother, who he loved so much.

Hiccup, who Astrid and Ragnar were supporting, was placed down next to Fishlegs.

"That's it!" he yelled.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs blinked.

"You hear me! No more, Camula!" He looked up at the castle. "I'm through you messing with my friends! Got that! What you did to Spitelout, to Wolflegs, it stops here and I'm going to be the one that stops it!"

Astrid just stared at him, she had never seen him act like this. "Hiccup?"

"Sure… I may not be back to full heath, but I don't care!" he said as he clenched his fist. "I'm taking you on and one way or another I'm getting our friends souls back."

"A about time," Spitelout muttered from Snotlout's packet.

Hiccup then got to his feet. "CAMULA!"

Everyone watched as Hiccup almost toppled over, but from the look on his face he wasn't going to let that stop him. "Camula… here I come. So better what yourself, because nothing is going to stop me!"


	33. Field of Screams Part 3

Chancellor Stoick stood in his office, watching as another storm raged on outside. The only light present in the room was his computer's monitor, and the occasional lightning flashes. He had been briefed by Gobber about the condition of the Gate that held the Sacred Beasts, and was concerned greatly for that.

"Two of the nine Gates have been unlocked…" he sighed and shook his head, "This is not good."

A whirring sound made him look over his shoulder. On the monitor, a very fuzzy picture of a man appeared.

"You disappoint me, Stoick," the figure chuckled. "Your excellent duellists only excel in losing. Why don't you just give up and surrender the seven remaining Keys?"

"It's not over," Stoick turned back to his window, "And if I know my students, they'll never give up, no matter what the odds. After all, they've come to this academy to become champions."

"And they'll end up being victims," the figure taunted. "My vampire is ready to feed again!"

The screen turned off by itself, leaving Sheppard to himself.

* * *

In the infirmary, Astrid sat at her brother's bedside once more, hoping that her brother would wake up, but so far, nothing had changed.

Movement from the other side of the room made her turn to see Hiccup tossing a bit in his sleep, groaning in pain with every movement.

"Hiccup get well," she whispered, turning back to her brother, "After all, with my brother still unconscious and Wolflegs' soul stolen, we'll need all the help we can get to fight the Shadow Games and that vampire Camula…"

At that moment, Heather came into the room to check on Astrid and the Hiccup. As she walked over to her, she noticed Hiccup twisting and turning.

The black haired girl looked to her best friend. "Nothing?" She asked, looking at Agnar.

"Nope…" Astrid answered sadly. "He hasn't woken up yet," she said. "He must've been really drained if he hasn't even twitched yet."

Heather nodded. "He'll wake up soon… He's a tough guy…"

Astrid nodded and turned to see how Hiccup was again, but stopped in mid-turn when she noticed something. The half-amulet next to Agnar began to glow brightly, and her brother's hands began to move, reaching for it.

"Agnar!" she gasped, looking at her brother's face.

The older Hofferson grunted and began to slowly open his eyes as he took hold of the object.

* * *

"So who's going next?" Ragnar asked.

"That's easy it's going to be me," said Gobber. "Messing with one of my colleagues is bad enough, but when she started messing with one of the students I teach that's drawing a line."

"No way," said Snotlout defiantly. "This is clearly a job for Snotlout Jorgenson."

Speedfist turned away, "I hardly think you're qualified," he mumbled.

Snotlout was about to slug Speedfist when a dull roaring sound made everyone turn to the water. A small motorboat was coming onto the banks, with a couple of familiar faces as their passengers.

"The Calvary has arrived!" Astrid greeted loudly as she stepped out into the shallows.

Heather jumped down with her, smiling profoundly. "We won't need any of you we've got Hiccup."

As if on cue, Hiccup rose from underneath a dark blanket, smiling, "Hey there," he said.

Ragnar frowned, "For the last time, you can't!"

"Yeah, you're still hurt, Slackers," Snotlout reminded him.

Speedfist nodded, "It's true."

Astrid frowned slightly, "Maybe, but…" she turned to Hiccup, who nodded.

"See, we were back at the hospital…" Heather continued.

* * *

Astrid pulled off Agnar's oxygen mask, "You're finally awake!"

"Agnar!" Heather rushed on over to get a better look at him.

Agnar breathed slowly and looked up at her, "Astrid, I have to tell you about her. The vampire known as Camula. You cannot defeat her like the others," he wheezed.

"But why not?"

"She has a Shadow Charm that gives her the power to steal souls. I'm sure you've seen her use it already. But you can stop her with another Charm…" Agnar looked down at the half-pendant around his neck, rubbing it lightly.

* * *

"If we can stop her stealing souls, then we can duel her with all our might, without standing there scared," Astrid finished.

Snotlout looked away, "I'm not scared of her…"

"Show them what you are made of son!" the Spitleout doll in his pocket squeaked.

"So we fight fire with fire," Heather continued, "And with our own Shadow Charm!"

Hiccup nodded as his and Agnar's pendant halves clinked together, "Compliments of Agnar…"

* * *

Everyone ran inside the mansion when Hiccup seemed to relent, more ready than ever now to win...

"All right, Camula, where are you!?"

Hiccup and the others looked around as the giant slab of stone closed in place behind them after they entered the castle.

"We're here for Wolflegs and Spitelout, and we're not leaving without them!" Hiccup yelled as a huge flock of bats flew out of the darkness.

The group dashed through the stairway corridor, protecting themselves from the bites and claws of the flying rats. They reached the top of the stairs and found themselves, once again in the ballroom with two balconies. Camula was on top of the one furthest away from them.

"Actually, truth be told, dear, you're not leaving here again." She stated. "Not a single one of you are!"

Hiccup climbed onto the opposite balcony, duel disk at the ready. Both disks whirred to life as the two duellists drew their opening hands.

"Let's Duel!" they yelled.

Hiccup: 4000

Camula: 4000

"Time for revenge Camula!" Hiccup shouted. "Because when someone messes with my friends, it puts us in a bad mood!"

"Well, let me tell you… I don't care!" the vampiress giggled.

Hiccup growled angrily at the lack of empathy in Camula's voice, almost particularly snatching his top card from his deck.

"Maybe this will change your mind," said Hiccup as he grabbed a card from his hand. "I play Polymerization in order to fuse Dragon Knights Hookfang, Meatlug and Windshear…" Everyone watches the free nights appeared on the field and suddenly they combined together with in a vortex. "And now I use them together in order to form Dragon Knight Berserker!"

Then suddenly appearing out of the vortex was a man looking night with crimson red armour and claw like hands. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2600)

"That's not like Hiccup," Fishlegs noted.

"Yeah, he usually goes defensive on the first turn and then goes on a full offence during the second," said Ragnar.

"Hiccup wants this to end quickly. And with Berserker out there, he might just do that," Speedfist explained.

"I wouldn't count Camula out just yet," said Snotlout.

"Yes, after all, we've seen how strong her cards can be, especially that Illusion Gate," said Gobber.

"We'll just have to hope she doesn't get a chance to play it," said Astrid looking quite worried.

"I'm actually more concerned the fact that she knows how our debts operate," said Heather. "She's devised a perfect strategy to fight against every one of our decks."

"Finally our place one card facedown," said Hiccup. He then looked up at Camula. "Okay, let's see what you've got."

"Well, well," said Camula. "If you're such in a hurry to lose." Camula drew her card and smiled when she saw what it was, "All right, I play Illusion Gate!" she cried, holding up the card.

"That was fast…" Hiccup growled as the huge stone doorway appeared behind her.

"I'm sure you remember its effects. To start, all the monsters on the field are destroyed, then I get to summon any monster that you've played," Camula smiled as her necklace began to glow once again, "All I have to do for this, is pay a soul to the Sacred Beasts should I happen to lose this duel. Now…" she looked down at the witnesses as the Gate opened up. "…who shall it be?"

The others began to cough as black smoke from the Illusion Gate wafted around them.

Camula raised her hand, rubbing the necklace gently, feeling its power, and she turned her eyes down onto one person in particular. "Aw, perfect. I think the Astrid will do." she giggled.

"No! Astrid!" Hiccup yelled as looked at Astrid in fear.

"Such a pretty thing," Camula smiled, tapping her gold piece of jewelry, "but With this necklace, I can do anything!"

The black smoke began to make its way towards Astrid, but then all of a sudden, a faint glow appeared. Hiccup looked down to see that the two halves that belonged to him and Agnar had combined into a complete pendant and was now glowing a bright golden light that pierced even the darkest recesses of the room.

Camula watched, astounded as the dark smoke from the Illusion Gate was pushed back away from the group, the Gate itself closing behind her.

"What's happening?!" Snotlout yelled.

Astrid smiled widely, "Hiccup's Shadow Charms cancelled out the power of her necklace!" she cried happily.

"Just in time, too!" Speedfist added.

"Looks like he saved you again," said Heather.

Camula screamed as the light blinded her.

"Thanks, Agnar… couldn't have done it without ya!" Hiccup looked back up at Camula, smirking. "If you still wanna use that Illusion Gate against Jason, then you gotta do some soul searching without us! So how about you put that cheating card away and get on with this duel?"

"How about not?!" she hissed, "Illusion Gate, open your doors and accept my soul and accept my soul as a sacrifice!" She then turned and looked at Hiccup. "And now unleash your power upon the field!"

Hiccup was startled as the Gate opened up and a dark mist shot forth, crashing right into Berserker, destroying him.

"Berserker!" Hiccup cried.

"Oh don't worry, you'll be seeing him again soon enough," Camula smiled wickedly, "But he'll be fighting for me!"

The Illlusion Gate closed up, but as soon as it did, Berserker returned, a bit darker looking than before, as if it was being covered by a veil of shadows.

"Now, I'll summon Zombie Werewolf in attack mode!" The familiar lycanthrope appeared alongside the turned Connor, growling and drooling non-stop. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200)

"Now, Dragon Knight Berserker attack your former owner!"

The converged knight blue forward, slashing his claw like hand that Hiccup.

Hiccup: 1200

Camula: 4000

"I'm not done yet," Camula stated. "Zombie Werewolf, attack—" She stopped when she saw Berserker acting funny. "Berserker? What is wrong?"

Hiccup laughed. "I'm guessing he doesn't like his new boss," he said at his facedown card revealed itself an image of a man in shadow and another one in bright light standing back to back from one another. "But you can forget the two-week notice, because I just activated my Cross Heart! Usually I can only activate this card when I take damage from an attack and then allows me to take control a monster on your side of the field so guess who's coming back."

"What!?" Camula yelled.

Suddenly Berserker's colour returned back to normal and he moved to return to Hiccup's side of the field. Behind her Camula notice that Illusion Gate vanished.

"Go ahead and taken back, I'll still win," she said dismissively

Snotlout smirked at the move, "Looks like Hiccup's learned a few new tricks…" he mused.

"I hope so!" the Spitelout doll muttered from within the confines of Snotlout's pocket.

"It's my turn now," said Hiccup as he drew. "All right, dined at is that Werewolf a few new tricks… like how to play dead."

Berserker then charged that Zombie Werewolf with his razor sharp claws. "Oh, and whenever Berserker attack the monster he gains a 500 attack point power boost."

Flames appeared around Berserker as he got in closer toward Zombie Werewolf. (ATK: 2800-3300)

His laws then slashed right through Zombie Werewolf.

Hiccup: 1200

Camula: 1900

Camula laughed. "How quickly you forget, darling. When Zombie Werewolf is destroyed, another one comes from my deck, stronger than the last one by 500 points!"

Her deck glowed and a second Werewolf appeared on the field, howling. (ATK: 1700/DEF: 1200)

"Very well, then put him down next turn," said Hiccup as he placed a facedown.

' _Fool, you have much more to worry about than just him. This next turn should prove that._ ' Camula thought as she drew her next card, "I play the Spell Pot of Greed!" She drew two more cards from her deck. She looked at them and giggled, "Hiccup… do you know what's worse than a vampire mistress?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"A vampire mistress with a grudge. Goodbye my Werewolf!" she looked at her lycanthrope as it howled while it left the field, "I sacrifice you to summon Vampire Lord…" she paused as her handsome royal vampire made his appearance. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500)

"But now, I shall remove him from the game to summon Vampire Genesis!"

For the third time since she arrived, Camula's powerhouse vampire, the same one that Wolflegs and Spitelout fought against, arrived. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2100)

"Did ya see that?!" Fishlegs whimpered.

"I'm afraid so," Ragnar nodded.

Snotlout growled, "3000 attack points!"

"As well as a powerful special ability," Speedfist added, "Hiccup will have his work cut out for him."

Hiccup clenched his teeth.

"Next, I'll use the Spell card Genesis Crisis!" Camula declared as she inserted the card into her custom disk, "Now, once every turn, a Zombie-Type monster is transferred from my deck and into my hand," she plucked a card from the pile of cards on her disk, "With Vampire Genesis, I can discard that monster in order to summon another one, as long as it's a lower level. So I'll be discarding Ryu Kokki to bring back Vamp's best friend, Zombie Werewolf!"

As soon as it was said, the furry monster howled and appeared once more, next to Vampire Genesis. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200)

"Now, if I recall your Dragon Knight cannot be destroyed in battle as long as you sacrifice one of the other cards on your field." Hiccup looked up as he stared down at his only facedown card. "And it seems you have one, pity of something should happen to it. Like for example… if it disappeared!" She then pulled one of the cards in her hand. "Due to my Giant Trunade."

Suddenly all the Spell and Trap cards on the field suddenly returned to their owners hands.

"How did she know to do that?" Fishlegs wondered.

"It's like Heather said, she's created the perfect strategy against all of our decks," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"He's right," Speedfist frowned. "Camula knows our decks better than anyone, and what's more, she's calculated a perfect strategy against them."

"Looks like someone did a little spying on us," said Hiccup

Camula smiled widely as her eyes began to glow bright red, "Well, my bats were just for show. They've been spying on you and your friends!" she laughed coldly as bats fluttered around her, "Just as they told me the weaknesses of your pathetic friends Spitelout and Wolflegs, they also told me yours as well. You can't win!"

Hiccup just stood there firm without showing any emotion whatsoever.

"Now Vampire Genesis, attack that Berserker with Crimson Storm!" Vampire Genesis unleashed a red storm that overtook berserker and destroyed him into a bunch of pixels. Hiccup took a hit to the jaw from the storm.

Hiccup: 1000

Camula: 1900

"So much for that Dragon Knight Berserker," said Snotlout. "Now, Hiccup is out there like a sitting duck."

"And I think that Zombie Werewolf likes duck," Fishlegs quivered. "This could be it guys."

"If this attack gets through it's all over," said Ragnar.

"You're through!" Camula yelled. "Zombie Werewolf! Attack Hiccup directly!"

Zombie Werewolf charge that Hiccup and dealt him to massive slashes with his claws. Everyone stared in horror as Hiccup expecting to see him fall, but he just stood there, a little shaky, but still standing.

"Well… fall down," said Camula clenching her fists. "You should have no more Life Points left."

Hiccup laughed. "I'm afraid not, Camula," he said.

"How is this possible?" Camula stared.

"It's thanks to the card you sent to my hand," said Hiccup. He then showed Camula the card in his hand which had a picture of a black dragon with no teeth and saliva pouring out of its mouth. "It's called, Night Fury Saliva. Whenever this card is sent to the Graveyard or returns to my hand I regain 500 life points just in time."

Hiccup: 300

Camula: 1900

Camula now that her eyes. "I see, how fortunate for you. But, you've just postponed the inevitable…" She then grabbed the Spell card she played earlier, Genesis Crisis. "I activate the magic of Genesis Crisis. And now I'll add yet another Zombie monster from my deck to my hand."

She then grabbed her Despair from the Dark, deck and placed in a hand.

Hiccup just stood there, barely, panting heavily.

Astrid looked at her friend, "Hiccup's hanging on, but still Camulal has way more Life Points than him."

Snotlout nodded, "Shadow Charm or not, how could we ever let him duel Camula? He's just not at the top of his game! We might as well hand over our Spirit Keys now."

"There's still hope. But I'll admit that with Vampire Genesis and that Genesis Crisis card, it's not that much hope," said Speedfist.

"It's not like we had any choice," Ragnar pointed out. "Besides, I doubt we could have changed his mind he's always been stubborn."

"Just like his father," said Gobber shaking his head.

Hiccup frowned at Camula. "Tell me, I have a feeling that to you this is more than just getting Gate Keys. So, what are you really after?"

Camula smirk. "Clever boy. Centuries ago, the vampires were a proud and peaceful race. We lived in harmony with our mortal brothers and sisters. That is, until the Dark Times… until the War. No one knows who struck first, but the fighting was fierce. Neither a soldier nor child were spared as the horror as hatred decimated both our peoples. I, the last of my race, had no choice but to go into hiding. For years I slept, a coffin as my home. Then, one day, a strange approached me, the dark power of the Shadow coursing through his body. He offered me a choice: to spend eternity hiding from the world, or to join him in his quest for the Sacred Beasts…" Camula reached up and touched her golden necklace, "For each soul of every duellist I defeat in battle, I would be that much closer to resurrecting my defeated army of vampires, and we would suck our revenge from the bloated vein of humanity!"

"Wow… little too much information there," said Heather shifted in her place. So"

"So, if I go down here, you'll get my Key and soul to start an army of the undead?" Hiccup bellowed.

Camula smiled, "You're smart… for a mortal. Maybe you'll do the right thing for both of us and just give in, Hiccup… I promise I'll make it painless for you."

"If you think I'm giving up you really have gone batty," Hiccup spat. He then looked at his deck. ' _All right, it comes down to this_.' He then drew his card. "Here goes everything."

He looked at the card he drew and then at his hand. "Okay, first things first I'll play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards." He wrote of the two extra cards he got and smiled. "Perfect, I now activate Fusion Substitute and I fuse together Dragon Knight's Toothless and Skull!"

Then Toothless and sickly looking knight appeared on the field. Then they jumped into the vortex and fuse together.

Hiccup grinned when out from the vortex, a tall and buff knight with bright shining armour and on top of his head with a crown. In his hand he held a long sword and in his hand was a shield. (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)

"Ladies and Gentleman… Meet Dragon Knight King!"

Camula gasped. "Wait, but you never used that card before! You must've put it in there when I wasn't looking, didn't you!"

"Of course I did," said Hiccup. "And I'm not so sure that's cheating. I mean, come on Camula… you had your bats spying on us and our decks," he shrugged, "I didn't even sneak the card in, anyhow. I always had it."

"You lie!"

"Not really, I just figured since you were all about the shadows that I should summon out a monster who can drive them away, like my Dragon Knight King," said Hiccup gesturing to his Dragon Knight King.

"Fine, use him," said Camula dismissively. "With just 2500 points he still won't defeat… Vampire Genesis."

"Actually, Camula, he will," Hiccup smirked. "You see Dragon Knight King has the abilities of both Toothless and Skull. And that means he gained 300 additional attack points for every Dragon Type monster in the graveyard."

Suddenly the spirits of Hiccup's Dragon Knight appeared right next to Dragon Knight King and his army began to glow brightly. (ATK: 2500-4300)

Camula eyes widened in horror. "Then my Vampire…"

"It is about to bite the dust," said Hiccup. "Dragon Knight King! Show this lady how we do things that Duel Academy attack Vampire Genesis with Divine Dragon Sword!"

Dragon Knight King raised his sword which glowed so brightly was almost blinding. He then slammed it down straight on top of Vampire Genesis.

"And let's not forget duty of Vampire Genesis ability when it's not on the field all Zombie Type monster's you have out gone."

Vampire Genesis exploded destroying Zombie Werewolf along with him.

Hiccup: 300

Camula: 600

Camula braced herself for the after-shock and then glared at Hiccup.

"Sorry, but it will take more than that to defeat a vampire," said Camula.

"I'm surprised with those large ears of yours that you missed an important detail," said Hiccup smirking. "I said he had the abilities of both Skull and Toothless and that means whenever he destroys a monster you take damage equal to its attack points."

"No! It can't be!" Camula yelled.

Dragon Knight King then created a blight glowing orb in his hand and then tossed it straight at Camula. The moment it made contact agreed a blinding light that covered her.

Hiccup: 300 (Winner)

Camula: 0

Camula fell to her knees as the light died down. It was over… she had lost.

They then all watched Camula as the Illusion Gate appeared behind again. The vampire turned around as the Gate opened up, horrified as a huge spectral hand appeared and passed through her. The hand retreated back into the Gate and it closed up, leaving Camula on the balcony.

Camula's body slowly turned into dust as a small figure amongst Camula's remains became large and familia.

"It's Wolflegs!"

"Big Bro!" Fishlegs, Speedfist, Ragnar, Heather and Astrid ran over to help the Obelisk.

Snotlout rolled his eyes, "Bout time this is over with…" he mumbled just as he felt something heavy around his waist. He looked down and was terrified to see Spitelout back to normal, with his leg stuck in his pocket.

"GET OFF A ME!" Snotlout yelled.

"Do you really think I want to be in your stinking pocket!" the head of Obelisk Blue roared.

Suddenly, as everyone was rejoicing at Jason's victory, the entire castle began to shake violently.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed, "The castle is falling apart."

"Let's go," said Speedfist as he lifted Woflegs over one shoulder while Ragnar took his other shoulder.

* * *

Everyone made it out safely and watched from the lakeside as Camula's castle crumbled into nothingness, leaving a huge cloud of dirt rising into the air. Shortly after, the clouds disappeared and the sun shined brightly in the sky.

Astrid looked up at the beautiful morning sky, smiling, "At last, the nightmare is over…"

"This one at least…" said Hiccup as Ragnar gave him Camula's Shadow Charm necklace. "Camula was the third of the Shadow Riders which means more are on the way. We gotta be ready you guys…"

* * *

Dragon Knight King

ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2000

8 Stars

LIGHT

Warrior/ Fusion/ Effect

Dragon Knight Toothless + Dragon Knight Skull

This monster can be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. This card is treated as a Dragon Type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. This car gained 300 attack points for every Dragon in the Graveyard. When this card destroys a monster by battle your opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monsters attack points.

Night Fury Saliva

Trap Card

If this card is destroyed all returns to the owners hand you regain 500 life points.

Card image: Toothless spitting out saliva.


	34. The Card Hunter

It was a dark night and sailing towards Duel Academy on a boat was a deep calculative figure with a black goatee. On his wrist he had an armband with the millennium symbol sketched on it. He was at that moment looking laptop with several images of the last remaining Gate Keepers.

"Now who shall my target be," he said as he scrolled through the list. He then stopped when one person caught his eye. "Perfect."

On the screen showed of image of Ragnar.

* * *

It was a nice peaceful morning on the island, but it was anything but peaceful for Ragnar. He was pacing up and down the dorm room looking rather scared and terrified.

"What's the matter Rag?" Hiccup asked from his bunk.

"Nothing is madder," said Ragnar.

"Rag, you're starting to create a groove in the floor now what's wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"It's just nerves," he said simply.

"Nerves? What have you gotten to be nervous about?" Fishlegs asked as he entered the dorm room.

"You mean you don't know," said Hiccup rather surprised.

"Know what?"

"Well Ragnar here has just asked Heather on a date," Hiccup chuckled.

Fishlegs just stared at him. "Whoa."

"It's not a date," said Ragnar. "Were simply going to take a night stroll through the forest and have lunch."

"And how is another date?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yeah, because in case you haven't noticed you will be alone with the girl you've been fawning over?" Hiccup pointed out.

"Hey, I don't think you're in a position to criticise," said Ragnar raising an eyebrow. "Because at least I have asked the girl I like on a date?"

"In my defence asking Astrid out on a date isn't exactly easy," said Hiccup.

"Come on, she only hits people who get on her nerves, like Snotlout."

"Excuse me if I am not reassured by that."

* * *

At the Obelisk Girl Dorm, Heather two was slightly nervous. She was running through her wardrobe trying to figure out what to wear until she heard a knock and saw Astrid and Ruffnut enter.

"What you guys want?" she asked.

"We're just seen how you're coping," said Astrid.

"Also we like to know what you can do well on your date," said Ruffnut earning an elbow from Astrid.

"It's not a date," said Heather firmly.

"Then why you looking for your wardrobe?" Astrid asked.

Heather looked at her open wardrobe and suddenly felt her face get hot. "Okay, I admit it," she said finally. "By Odin I've just got nothing to wear."

"I don't think turning up naked in front of Ragnar is the wisest move," Astrid joked.

"I don't know, you might like it," said Ruffnut.

Heather glared at her two friends. "It's times like this it's great to know who your friends are."

"We're only pulling your leg, Heather," said Astrid.

Heather crossed her arms. "I'll remember that when you're frantic when you go on a date with Hiccup."

Now it was Astrid's turn to turn pink.

"Yeah, how he hasn't ask you yet?" Ruffnut asked.

"It's because he's afraid that you end up in the hospital if he dares asks her," said Heather.

"Why would I do that?"

"Uh, because you probably do that to every single guy who asks you out on a date," said Ruffnut.

"Only to the ones that annoy me," said Astrid defensively.

"Which is practically all of them?" Heather added.

"Okay, another boy talk," said Astrid holding her hands up in surrender. "Let's just discuss what you should wear."

They began sorting through Heather's cloths deciding what would be best suited for small picnic.

"So…" said Ruffnut as she pulled out a green dress out of Heather's wardrobe. "Did he fall apart the moment he asked you?"

"He was slightly nervous, but there again all boys are nervous when they are asking girls out on their first date," said Heather.

"Oh… so it's a date now," said Astrid as she pulled out a black tank top.

"I thought we dropped this?" Heather glared.

"Okay, sorry," said Astrid shaking her head. "Let's just figure out what you're going to wear okay."

* * *

It soon was noon and Ragnar were standing outside the Girls Dorm. He never been this nervous in his life. He had decided just to wear a simple green shirt and a pair of jeans and under his arm he was holding a picnic basket.

He began pacing up and down and looked up at the sky. "How come it's the waiting that's always the hardest part?" he asked himself.

"Worry that I have second thoughts?" said a voice.

Ragnar turned and just stared, because right in front of him was Heather in a black tank top and a blue skirt. She wore a pair of black leggings and on her feet were pair of combat boots. Her black hair was cascading down her shoulder and her forest green eyes sparkled.

"You look great," said Ragnar.

Heather smiled. "Right back at you."

Then the two of them started to make their way over to their picnic site.

* * *

They walked for about half an hour for the forest until they reach a clearing and Ragnar place down the picnic basket. Heather then rolled up the blanket she was carrying under her arms and they sat on it.

"I hope you like what I made?" said Ragnar as he pulled on a pair of sandwiches from the picnic basket.

"I'm sure I will," Heather smiled.

They began eating the sandwiches and looked up at the sky. "I still can't believe the world is resting on our shoulders," said Heather as she looked at her Gate Key.

Ragnar looked at his own. "I suppose I just means we have to duel are hardest to prevent it from falling."

Heather smiled at him. "Well, let's just enjoy the moment shall we?"

Ragnar smiled back. "I think I can do that."

The two of them had noticed that their hands were touching one another and slowly their faces were getting closer to one another. However, before their lips touched something sharp dug into Ragnar's neck.

"Ouch!" he yelled at his hand touched his neck. He found something stuck there and pulled it out and it was revealed to be a dart and everything started to become hazy. "What? What's this—I—I feel funny?"

"Ragnar!" Heather yelled, but then dart hit her in the neck and she too began to feel woozy.

Ragnar then began to feel woozy and collapsed, but before he could blank out he saw a figure walking out of the bushes towards them.

The figure had his arms behind his back as he looked down at Ragnar. "All too easy," he said.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Ruffnut and her brother were watching the entire event. They had just came to spy on Ragnar and Heather for any embarrassing moments.

"Who is that guy?" Tuffnut asked.

"How should I know?" Ruffnut shrugged.

"Should we tell someone?"

Ruffnut watched as them figure placed Heather over his shoulders and dragged Ragnar away.

"I think we should," said Ruffnut pulling out her PDA.

* * *

When Ragnar came to, found himself in an unfamiliar location. He rubbed his head, because it was throbbing like crazy.

"What happened?" he asked himself and then noticed that there was a chain on his hand. "What that?!"

He felt something around his neck and it was like some sort of collar and when he looked down at his left arm he found a Duel Disk there.

"Okay, this can't be good," he said.

Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness he found himself in some sort of warehouse and there was some sort of lab equipment, but that wasn't a great concern right now, because he found himself on some sort of platform.

"I see you're awake," said a voice.

Hiccup looked up and saw the tall handsome figure on another platform and he too had a Dual Disk on his arm.

"Who are you? And where are we?" Ragnar demanded.

"Of course, where are my manners, Viggo Grimborn," said Viggo bowing. "And as for where we are wearing our abandon laboratory that has been long, but it still serves the use."

Hiccup then noticed the armband on his arm and his eyes narrowed. "You're a Shadow Rider."

"Indeed, and you are a Gate Keeper," said Viggo. "So as you can probably guess were about to have a duel."

Ragnar then remembered Heather. "Where's Heather?"

Viggo blinked. "Ah, you must mean the girl," he said. "I apologise for stealing what surely must have been a romantic moment, but I cannot have any witnesses. Rest assure that she is perfectly fine that is until I duel her of course."

"You have to beat me first," said Ragnar narrowing his eyes.

"That is the plan," Viggo smirked.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Hiccup, Astrid and the others met up with the twins in the forest.

"Glad you guys got here," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, we were getting bored," said Tuffnut.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, Ragnar and Heather were just about to kiss and then this guy showed out of nowhere and struck them with tranquillisers," said Ruffnut.

"He then carried them off to who knows where," said Tuffnut.

Astrid crossed her arms. "And how do you know they were about to kiss?"

The twins blinked and looked at one another nervously.

"Seriously, you can let them have a private moment?" Hiccup asked shaking his head.

"Well, if we weren't here we'd be having an entirely different discussion," Ruffnut pointed out.

"We can sort this out later, but my now we need to find them," said Gobber.

"Agreed," said Speedfist.

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup. "Do you guys think that this guy is a Shadow Rider?"

"Considering that he just captured two Gate Keepers I'd say it's very likely," said Hiccup.

"Shadow Riders?" Ruffnut blinked.

"Gate Keepers?" said Tuffnut blankly.

"We'll explain later," said Astrid.

"Hey, how about instead of talking we actually go and find the two happy couple," Snotlout suggested.

"Just hope were not too late," said Hiccup.

* * *

Heather suddenly came to and found herself in some sort of observation platform. She tried to open the door, but it was locked and then she noticed the windows.

"Where am I?" she wondered how she made her way over to them.

She looked out of the windows and saw right below her was Ragnar and Viggo. From the way they were moving she realised they were about to have a duel.

"Oh no," she said.

Ragnar inserted his deck and Viggo did the same.

' _I wonder what the deal with the collar is_ ," he thought. He then shook his head. ' _Focus Ragnar you need to beat this guy and find Heather fast_.'

"Let's duel!" they yelled.

Ragnar: 4000

Viggo: 4000

"I'll go first," said Ragnar as he drew his first card. "Okay, first I play my Marauding Captain in attack mode!" Then appearing on the field was the battle scarred captain. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 400) "And thanks to his special ability when he summoned to the field I can summon another monster like my Command Knight."

Suddenly the female knight in red armour appeared on the field with a sword and shield held high. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1900) "And she has an own special ability as long as she's on the field all Warriors on my side of the field gain 400 additional attack points."

Then both Marauding Captain and Command Knight began to get a boost in power. (ATK: 1200-1600)x2. "And I'm not done yet because I play the spell card the Allied Forces." Ragnar then placed a card in his Spell and Trap Card Zone. "As long as this is on the field all Warrior -type monsters on my side of the field gain 200 attack points for every Warrior and Spellcaster I have out."

Once again both Marauding Captain and Command Knight began to get a power boost. (ATK: 1600-2000)x2. "And with that I'll end my turn."

Viggo looked at Ragnar's field. "Impressive summon into monsters with 2000 attack points each, but I'm afraid they're going to be completely useless."

Ragnar stared at him as he drew his card. "For now I play the Swords of Revealing Light!" Ragnar stared in horror as several brightly lit swords place themselves around his monsters. "And as long as they're out you're not allowed to attack the three turns."

"I'll then play a monster facedown in defence mode," said Viggo as a monster appeared on his field. "And lastly I'll play one card facedown."

From the observation room Heather frowned, "He just prevented Ragnar from attacking and now he's playing defensively?"

' _He's up to something_." Ragnar thought as he drew his next card. "I think I'll play a monster facedown as well and that will end by turn."

Once Ragnar placed his facedown monster card, Viggo drew his next card.

"Very well, for now I flip summon my facedown monster, my Morphing Jar #2," said Viggo as his facedown monster revealed itself. It looked like some strange kind of worm within a jar. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 700)

"When this month is flip summoned all monsters on the field returned to their owners deck," said Viggo as he picked up his Morphing Jar and Ragnar was forced you the same with his monsters. "Next we shuffle our decks and then we begin to draw and keep drawing until we have the same number of monsters we return to the deck."

Ragnar and Viggo drew their cards and while Viggo drew until had three cards Ragnar had a keep drawing until he had ten. "Now we summon all monsters with four stars or below to the field in facedown defence position and we send the others to the graveyard."

"What?" Ragnar gasped.

"What's the matter Gate Keeper? Drew card you can afford to lose?" Viggo smirked.

The truth was he did and he was forced to send seven of them to the Graveyard while Viggo only sent two. Once they had their monsters face down in defence position. "Now I activate my facedown card Ceasefire." Suddenly Viggo's facedown card revealed itself. "Thanks to this all facedown monsters are flipped up, but their flip effects won't activate, but for each effect monster you take 500 points of damage."

"Oh no," said Ragnar.

Suddenly all four monsters on the field are flipped straight up, Field-Commander Rahz, Big Shield Gardna and Queen's Knight won his side and Viggo's monster was another Morphing Jar #2.

Ragnar then felt a massive amount of pain coming from the collar around his neck and he screamed as electricity ran through his body.

Ragnar: 2500

Viggo: 4000

Ragnar then fell to the ground exhausted as a facedown card return to their normal positions.

"What was that?" he said trying to shake the spots out of his eyes.

"Oh, I should have mentioned the collar around your neck will strike you with an electric shock every time your life points drop," said Viggo.

"But—why don't you use your shadow charm?" Ragnar asked weakly. "This is a shadow game is not?"

Viggo actually looked amused. "A Shadow Game? I don't believe it's wise for me to put up my soul for a game I might very well lose. I'm a businessman after all and I do not see the business of losing my soul for anyone."

"Then why—?"

"For the Sacred Beasts of course," said Viggo placing his hands behind his back. "You see I'm a collector of sorts and I wish to possess the most powerful cards in existence and the only way for me to get those Sacred Beasts is to beat you Gate Keepers."

"Don't you realise what will happen if the unleashed?" said Ragnar as he got to his feet.

"My Shadow Charm will protect me of that I am very certain."

"You're not going to get those cards if I have anything to say about it."

Viggo chuckled. "I was hoping you would say that it makes the game far more interesting. And now you don't mind I wish to continue with my move by placing another monster facedown."

A second facedown monster card appeared right next to his first one.

* * *

Meanwhile, unknown of the events that were that were going on, Hiccup and the others were still on the lookout for Ragnar and Heather.

"Still no sign of them," said Hiccup as they return to the clearing.

"Not a whisper," said Speedfist.

"I got nothing," said Snotlout.

"We need to find them in fast," said Astrid.

"Well, we didn't find anything," said Ruffnut as she and her brother exited from the trees.

"Hopefully, Gobber is having better luck than we are," said Hiccup. Then suddenly his PDA began ringing and he instantly picked it up. "It's from Gobber."

"What does it say?" Astrid asked.

"It says, head North East," Hiccup read.

It took several minutes, but they finally found Gobber standing in front what looked like some strange kind of building.

"What in the name of Thor is that thing?" Snotlout asked.

"It's bad and laboratory," Gobber explained. "Ya see before the school was built some scientists were experimenting on animals, but of course they were kicked out when we came in but this laboratory remained."

"What makes you think they're in their?" Fishlegs asked.

Gobber looked at the building. "Well, if I was a Shadow Rider, and I'm glad I'm not, I would hide here away from prying eyes."

"Then let's going then find them," said Astrid.

Without a second thought they entered the building.

* * *

Ragnar looked at the field. ' _Okay, this guy is certainly good and he's thinking way ahead._ ' He thought and looked at it first facedown card. ' _I can't let him activate that card next turn or else will go through the same thing again_.' Ragnar then reached for his deck. "Okay, my move."

Ragnar drew his next card looked at his hand and grabbed one of the card in it. "But I pray the Spell Card Nobleman of Crossout. Now I can select one of your facedown monsters and removed from the game and I think I'll choose your Morphing Jar #2."

Morphing Jar #2 revealed itself, but then vanished from the field. "Oh, and since it was a flip effect monster we are forced to remove all monsters with the same name from our decks."

Viggo din look phased as he pulled out two more Morphing Jar #2 from his deck and placed them behind his back.

"And next I'll Flip summon both Field-Commander Rahz and Queen's Knight," said Ragnar as his battle hardened commander and female night revealed themselves. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1200), (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1600). "And let's not forget that they get a power boost thanks to my Allied Forces Spell Card." His two warriors felt a surge of energy flowing through them. (ATK: 1600-2000), (ATK: 1500-1900)

Ragnar then revealed another Spell Card which had a picture of several warriors charging at once. "And next I play the spell card Warriors Charge. Thanks to this card you take 600 point of damage for every face of Warrior Type monster I have out."

Both Field-Commander Rahz and Queen's Knight placed this all together and are being shot out from them and struck Viggo.

Ragnar: 2500

Viggo: 2800

From the observation platform Heather smiled.

"That's showing him," she said.

Viggo rubbed his chest before smiling. "Impressive move I could see why Stoick made you a Gate Keeper, but I'm afraid you're still outmatched."

"Don't forget your sword will fade next turn and that means I get to attack you," said Ragnar.

"I am well aware of that, but it matters not because I have already come up with the perfect strategy to beat you with," said Viggo as he drew his next card. "For now I flip summon my Needle Worm."

Viggo's facedown card revealed itself to be an insect with very sharp spikes popping out of its body. (ATK: 750/ DEF: 600 "And whenever this worm is revealed the top five cards of your deck automatically sent to the graveyard."

Ragnar reluctantly sent five cards from his deck straight to his Graveyard he finally realised what Viggo's strategy was. "You're hoping I deck out."

"Oh, not hoping, I know you will deck out," said Viggo.

"I can still beat you before my debt runs out," said Ragnar.

Viggo just smirked. "We'll see about that, because now I sacrifice my Needle Worm in order to play…" Hid Needle Worm vanished and replacing it came a large scorpion with sharp needle sticking out of its claws and stinger. "Needle Scorpion!" Needle Scorpion roared. (ATK: 1950/ DEF: 1800)

"And since I sacrificed Needle Worm to summon him you automatically lose the top five cards of your deck."

Ragnar groaned as he sent five cards from his deck to the graveyard.

"Oh no," said Heather from the observation deck. "He's losing his deck fast."

"And now I have attack your Queen's Knight," said Viggo.

Needle Scorpion rush straight towards Queen's Knight and why she was able to block the clause with a shield she was unable to avoid the sting which struck down.

Ragnar: 2450

Viggo: 2800

Ragnar roared in pain as his collar shocks him once more.

"And whenever Needle Scorpion destroys a monster in battle you're forced to discard the same number of cars equal to your monsters level which means you're about to lose four more cards," said Viggo.

Ragnar then sent forecasts from his deck to the Graveyard.

"Now according to my calculations that means that you now have only eight cards left," said Viggo. "And just to make sure that you don't plan to raid a counter-attack I'll play my Mystical Space typhoon and Raigeki to destroy your Spell Card and your monsters."

Ragnar watch in horror as both his Spell Card and his monsters were destroyed.

"You can do it," said Heather.

Then suddenly she heard noise from behind the door. It was then flung open and she saw Hiccup Astrid, and the others outside.

"Heather!" Astrid yelled and relief.

"I glad to see you guys," said Heather.

"Where's Ragnar?" Hiccup asked.

"He's duel a Shadow Rider," said Heather gesturing to the window.

They all made their way over towards the window and saw duel that was going on.

"Ragnar doesn't look too good," said Tuffnut.

"That's because that collar around his neck is shocking every time you loses life points," said Heather.

"That's sick," said Astrid.

Heather nodded. "I know. And that's not even the worst part of it this Viggo guy is destroying his decks only got about eight cards left."

"Oh, not good, very not good," said Fishlegs.

"And what's worse he has even waged one attack yet thanks to those Swords of Revealing Light," said Heather.

"You're kidding," said Hiccup.

"I wish."

"We just got to believe he can do it," said Astrid.

Hiccup agreed with Astrid, but things weren't looking too good for Ragnar.

"My turn," said Ragnar as he drew. "At first I play the Spell Card Monster Reborn and bring back my Queen's Knight." Suddenly reappearing on the field was his Queen's Knight with her sword raised up high. "And joined to her side is my King's Knight."

Suddenly appearing right next to Queen's Knight was an armoured man with a sword and shield in each hand. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400)

"And whenever King's and Queen's Knight on the field at the same time I can summon Jack's Knight for my deck to join them," said Ragnar as he looked through his deck.

Then appearing on the field was a young night also holding a sword and shield. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1000)

"But now I'll fuse them together with the power of Polymerization in order to summon…" Ragnar roared as his three knights entered into a vortex. "Arcane Knight Joker!"

Then appearing on the field was a very large and powerful knight. (ATK: 3800/ DEF: 2500)

"Most impressive, but your Knight is unable to attack due to the Swords of Revealing Light," Viggo reminded.

"Then I'll just have to finish you off next turn," said Ragnar. He looked at his hand and his eyes turned to his De-Fusion Spell Card. ' _All I have to do is make sure I last for the next turn and then I can wipe him out._ '

Viggo then drew his card and placed a card in his slot on his Duel Disk. "I now activate the Spell Card The Dark Door!"

"Not that!" Ragnar yelled.

"It would seem as if your plan to defeat me has come to a close for as long as this Spell card on the field we can only attack with one monster during our Battle Phase."

"What does that mean?" Fishlegs asked looking at the others.

"That means that Ragnar can only attack with one monster," Hiccup explained.

Fishlegs' eyes widened. "But wait if you only able to attack with one monster then that means—"

"It means he has no chance to get through to his Life Points," Hiccup finished.

"And now I activate another Spell Card," said Viggo grabbing his last card. It showed the picture of Needle Worm attacking a Duellist Deck. "It's called Needle Bombardment and all I have to do to activate it is remove my Needle Worm from my Graveyard and then you are forced to discard the top five cards of your deck."

"But that'll only leave me with one card," said Ragnar looking at his deck.

"And the chances of you winning in just one turn are very slim indeed," Viggo smirked as Ragnar discarded his cards. "And to finish my turn our switch my Needle Scorpion to defence mode."

Needle Scorpion then took a defensive position. "It's your move, your last move."

Ragnar looked at his deck knew the chances of him winning were almost nil.

From the observation platform Hiccup and the others saw the dismay on his face.

"If only we can talk to him," said Hiccup.

Gobber soon solved that problem by smashing the glass with his prosthetic arm.

Hiccup blinks at him. "Not what I had in mind."

Heather then pushed past him and yelled, "Ragnar!"

Ragnar looked up and saw them his face fourth relief. "Heather! You're all right!"

"I'm fine, but you need to take this guy down," said Heather.

"If you haven't noticed he's blocked all my attempts and I'm down to my last card," said Ragnar gesturing to his deck.

Hiccup then step forward. "The Duel isn't over until last card is played and you still have one."

"You can do it Ragnar!" Astrid yelled.

"Kick his butt!" Snotlout roared.

"Very touching, but I am a very busy man and I would like to have this duel finished as soon as possible," said Viggo tiredly.

Ragnar then turned and faced him. "You'll regret saying that, because it's my turn now!" Ragnar drew his last card and look at it and instantly his eyes widened. "I activate the spell card De-Fusion! So I can defuse my Knight Joker into the three monsters who made him!"

Knight Joker soon vanished and in his place to the free Knight touching their swords together.

"All right! Now he can wipe Viggo out," said Tuffnut.

"This is gonna be good," said Ruffnut

"He can't, you muttonheads" said Astrid.

"Don't you remember Viggo's Dark Door only allows Ragnar to attack with one monster?" said Hiccup.

"I hate to say it, but it looks like its game over," said Fishlegs.

"No, he's got something up his sleeve," said Heather.

Everyone watched down the field as Ragnar raised the card he drew. "It's time to finish this," he said.

Viggo now actually looked a bit fearful. "What did you draw?" he demanded.

"You're about to find out, because I sacrifice my three Knights in order to summon Gilford the Lightning!"

"Not that!" Viggo yelled.

Suddenly Ragnar's three Knights turned into bolts of lightning and collided and there stood where they once stood was a powerful looking warrior holding a large sword and he roared into the air. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 1400)

"Whenever Gilford is summoned by sacrificing three monsters he is able to destroy all monsters on my opponent's side of the field!" said Ragnar.

Gilford raised his sword and lightning struck down striking Needle Scorpion, who was destroyed instantly.

"And now you have nothing to protect yourself from him," said Ragnar. "Gilford attack Viggo directly!"

Gilford raised his sword and sent a slash of lightning straight towards Viggo dealing him a powerful shock through his body.

Ragnar: 2450 (Winner!"

Viggo: 0

"He did it!" Heather and Astrid cried.

"Way to go Rag," Hiccup smiled.

Viggo fell to his knees and looked up at Ragnar. "Very impressive, it seems I underestimated you," he said. He then removed his bracelet and tossed it at Ragnar. "Here, something for your troubles."

Ragnar caught it and glared at Viggo. "Don't think you can get away."

"Oh, rest assured we will meet again, but next time we meet will have a different outcome," said Viggo as he pulled a trigger.

Ragnar realised what Viggo was about to do before he even did it. Viggo pressed the button causing a small explosion across the lab. Not a powerful enough to set the place on fire, but enough to create a smokescreen allowing him to escape.

* * *

It took several minutes, Hiccup and the guys were able to set him free and he rubbed his wrist and remove the collar around his neck.

"Well, not exactly what I call a good first date," he said.

"No kidding," said Snotlout.

"At least that's one less Shadow Rider to worry about," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Not really, because unlike the others he didn't lose his soul," Ragnar pointed out.

"Yeah, I have a feeling we're going the same again," said Hiccup.

Ragnar looked at Heather and before he knew it she tackled him and wrapped her arms around him. Ragnar couldn't think of anything else and did the same with her.

"Despite the whole Shadow Rider thing I'd say that was a pretty good date," she said.

"Yeah, but next time have we skip the fate of the world on our shoulders thing," said Ragnar.

Heather nodded and then looked into his eyes. "If I remember correctly we were about to do something before Viggo showed up."

Ragnar blinked and then remembered their attempted kiss. "Oh, yeah, I—uh—well, I'm not sure how we—"

He was stopped when Heather placed her lips across his earning a few catcalls from the twins. Hiccup and Astrid looked at one another and smiled. Thought Ragnar didn't care that people watching them as he melted away into her kiss.

* * *

Needle Scorpion

ATK: 1950/ DEF: 1800

6 stars

EARTH

Insect/ Effect

If Needle Worm was sacrificed into summoning this card your opponent loses the top five cards of their deck. When this card destroys a monster your opponent must discard card equal to the destroyed monsters level.

Needle Bombardment

Spell Card

Remove and play one Needle Worm from your Graveyard and your opponent must send the top five cards of the deck to the graveyard.

Card image: Needle Worm attacking a Duellist Deck

Warriors Charge

Spell Card

Deals 600 points of damage to your opponent for every face a Warrior-Type monster you face up on your side of the field.

Card image: several warriors charging at once


	35. Sibling Rivalry

Another morning at Duel Academy opens up at the Slifer Red Dorm, it was supposed to peaceful until a certain black coat student decided to air out his problems the only way he knows how…

"I can't take it anymore! The Snot shouldn't live like a Slifer Rat!" Snotlout sat up on his bed, in his very cramped room. "I used to be an Obelisk Blue!"

He looked around his room, taking in the room's features and thinking of the ones from his old dorm, "Jacuzzi tub, turndown service… a week of renovations and this place still isn't liveable!"

The bed took up most of the room, making him glad he didn't room with anyone due to the complaints he would no doubt have to endure. He also brought out his couch and his plasma TV. But whatever else he had was still in boxes since the ending of the School Duel.

While Snotlout was having that breakdown, he didn't notice his Ojama Yellow pop out of his deck case.

"Hey, Boss!" the Spirit greeted, "You look stressed!" he flew up to Snotlout's shoulders and nodded as he felt around, "Oh yeah, feel all this stress building up!"

Snotlout snapped his head to the Spirit, glaring hard at him, "You! If you wanna be helpful, get lost!"

Ojama Yellow cried and floated around him, letting the tears fall.

Snotlout swiped at him, "And… if you wanna see pressure, then how's this?!" he slammed his hands together just Ojama Yellow came in between them.

With a puff of smoke, the annoying Spirit was gone.

"Finally… some peace and quiet," Snotlout sighed, lowering his head, "Bout time, too."

"Hey, what's up, Snotlout?"

Snotlout yelped, and then slowly turned around, glaring at the source of the newest annoyance. Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were standing at his doorway.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?!" he snapped.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "That would be pretty hard to do because your doors way over there." Gesturing to the door that was leaning outside against the wall.

Snotlout facefaulted, "That's not funny…"

"It is a little funny," said Ragnar.

"Especially since everyone can hear you shouting over half a mile away," Fishlegs added.

"Why you guys here?" Snotlout asked grinding his teeth.

Hiccup then looked at him seriously. "I don't want to speak to you."

Snotlout blinked. "Stoick? What if you want with me?"

"Let's just say the fate of Duel Academy now lies in your hands."

"Odin help us," said Ragnar.

* * *

Minutes later, Hiccup and the others escorted him to the Chancellor's office to find out what's up.

"I have urgent news for you, Snotlout."

Stoick turned around in his chair and looked at Snotlout, who was flanked by Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs. Professor Banner sat nearby on a couch, petting his faithful cat while Gobber leaned against the wall.

Snotlout raised an eyebrow, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Like what? My new bed here yet?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "We have more important matters then your bed."

"Hiccup is right, Snotlout," Banner explained quietly as Pharaoh purred in his lap.

"Then what?" Snotlout glanced from the Slifer headmaster to Stoick.

Stoick's face fell a little, "Well… someone is trying to buy out the Duel Academy, and this someone is planning to get rid of all the teachers and students, and shut this place down forever."

"Shut it down?" Snotlout stared at him.

"Told you, but I like to know why?" said Hiccup.

Stoick folded his hands together and leaned forward onto his desk, "Without us, they could take over the entire duelling world!" he took a breath, "Fortunately, our owner, has given us a chance…"

* * *

"You heard me right,"

An intimidating man in a white trench coat had his back to the men behind him. These were the same men that demanded they buy the Academy.

"It's not about the money, it's about the cards," the owner of Duel Academy looked over his shoulder, his cold blue eyes glaring hard at the duo, "I will only sell you my Academy if you prove your worth as a duellist, and beat one of my students in battle."

* * *

"It comes down…" said Gobber held up a single finger, "…to one duel."

Hiccup frowned, and snapped his head to his father, "Let me duel, I'll beat this guy!"

"No!" Stoick startled at him. "The duellist… is already chosen."

"Well who's it gonna be?" Snotlout asked.

Stoick shook his head and turned his stare to the person that stood in front of him.

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs turned to the duellist, "Snotlout?!"

"We're doomed," said Ragnar

Banner stood up and walked to the nearby monitor on the wall, where a loud beeping noise was heard, "For some reason, they specifically asked for you, Snotlout," he carried on as he pushed a button. "I believe that this is them now."

"On screen," Stoick nodded to the monitor.

Banner nodded back and pressed another button. Seconds later, two familiar faces appeared on the TV monitor.

"It's Snotlout brothers?" Fishlegs stared at the two men on the screen.

"That figures," said Hiccup.

Snotlout scowled, "Lousy scrubs. What are you up to?" he demanded.

Spitlout grinned, "C'mon, Snotlout, don't you know? Slimelout…?"

"Same thing as always, little brother," Slimelout shared his brother's grin.

"Complete world domination!" they said in unison.

"Don't you remember, Snotlout?" Spitlout asked, "It was our… little 'family project',"

Snotlout grunted, "Your project… maybe…"

"Well, it pretty much is now, huh, Snotlout?!" Spitlout snapped at him.

Slimelout nodded, "That's right. It's all because you couldn't pull your weight! You couldn't conquer the world of Duel Monsters like we planned! So now, Spitlout is just gonna have to do it for you!"

"So I'm duelling Spitlout?" Snotlout asked them.

Fishlegs grinned, "You can take him easy, Snotlout!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Legs," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, there has to be some sort of catch," said Hiccup.

"Clever boy," Slimelout smirked.

Spitlout cleared his throat. "Indeed, because there are a few conditions. First…" he pulled up a black briefcase, and then opened it up to show them all a bunch of cards. "…I'm going to use all these rare cards, the same rare cards that you wouldn't use for the School Duel, Snotlout. Of course, you refused to use them, and you lost. And, there's one more thing, Snotlout… you are only allowed to duel with monsters that have less than 500 attack points in our duel!"

"What the-?!" Snotlout glared at them.

"500 attack points?!" Fishlegs gasped.

Ragnar narrowed his eyes. "An entire deck of rare cards against monsters with less than 500 attack points."

"Not exactly a fair fight," said Hiccup. He looked at Snotlout. "There's no way you can agree to this."

"It's too late for that," Spitlout wagged a finger, "Way too late."

* * *

"Very well," the Academy owner looked at them again, this time his brunette bangs covering his eyes. "I accept those terms. Now get out of my office."

* * *

"So, it's all decided, Snotlout," Spitlout shrugged lightly. "Nothing can be done."

Hiccup glared at them. "You bring underhanded to a whole new level."

"Why thank you," Spitlout smirked.

The two brothers began to laugh, but Banner shut off the TV just in time.

Snotlout put his hands in his pockets again, turned around and headed for the door, "Guess we gotta pack up our stuff, huh?"

Hiccup and his friends looked at him and followed him.

* * *

It didn't take long for news to spread through the school. Snotlout heard whispers of his schoolmates buzz around him as the students from each dorm stood in his way. Every step he took, he always heard a different one.

"This is terrible!"

"This is totally Snotlout's fault."

"I heard that he's already accepted defeat…"

"Of course, he has! He probably wants his brothers to win!"

"We never should've let him back in here!"

"Well, you know what I think?"

Snotout stopped in his tracks and turned around to see Hiccup standing behind him, a calm, but serious look on his face.

"Actually, there's a reason he can't duel," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs frowned at him. "But he's one of our best duellists."

Snotlout scowled, "Yeah, I know that. That's exactly the problem!"

"So what?" Fishlegs asked him. "You can solve it no hassle. It'll just take some adjustments and you'll be all set."

"Fishlegs, I can't…" Snotlout argued.

"Honestly, Snotlout, you're not making any sense."

"Speedfist's right, being tough is usually a good thing, Snotlout."

Snotlout turned around to see Speedfist, Heather and Astrid standing behind him.

"Never thought you'd back out of a duel, Snotlout…" Heather stated. "What's so hard about duelling someone who doesn't have any skill or experience?"

"It's because he's too tough," said Ragnar.

Everyone just stared at him.

"Ragnar is right, Snotlout is too tough, specifically his deck; it's about him not even being able to duel."

Snotlout turned and saw Wolflegs walking up to him.

"What do you mean?"

Wolflegs looked over his shoulder, "What I mean, Fishlegs, is that his deck isn't built with monsters that have less than 500 attack points."

Fishlegs blinked, then looked at Snotlout, "So that means…"

"My cards are all too powerful," Snotlout explained, "Because of that condition my bros set up, my deck is useless! All I got left…" he pulled out the Ojama Yellow card from his coat pocket, "…is him."

Everyone around him gasped in disbelief at the sight of the card.

"Him?!" Fishlegs stared at the Ojama card, "You can't make a deck with just one card!"

"He may not have to…"

Snotlout and the others turned around to see Banner sitting nearby on a stairway, holding Pharaoh.

"This is just a rumour, but given the circumstances, I think it'd be worth investigating," Banner smiled slightly, "Now supposedly, my students, deep in the woods is a very old well. Within this well, lay a great many cards. You see, they were discarded by duellists who believed them to be too weak to ever use in their decks," he held up a finger, "Of course, the spirits of these cards are sure to be angry for being left behind."

"Oh yeah?" Snotlout frowned, "Well the Snot has a feeling that they're gonna be perkin' up real soon, because I'm gonna go find that well and enlist some new monsters for my deck!"

* * *

Snotlout walked down a dirt path in the woods, a large backpack over his shoulder. He was on a mission and nothing was going to keep him from completing it.

Snotlout stopped and looked over his shoulder at Hiccup. "You know, you two don't have to follow me everywhere!" he snapped at the tailing duo.

"Listen you don't have experience when it comes to monster spirits," Hiccup pointed out. "And trust me angry spirits is nothing to fool around with."

"Like Banner said, it's probably just a rumor anyway."

"Then explain those," Hiccup stopped in his tracks and pointed ahead.

Snotlout looked ahead and skidded to a stop just as three spectral forms shot out of nowhere, moaning loudly.

"Okay… maybe not," Snotlout retracted his previous comment.

"Those guys don't look very happy…" Hiccup commented, watching the spirits fly around, moaning.

Snotlout scoffed, "They're harmless. They're just low-level Duel Spirits. Look…"

All of a sudden, the spirits flew down upon the group and each one phased through the boys.

Hiccup looked down, touching his chest as soon as the spirit went back into the air, "Hey, I see your point…"

Snotlout looked up at the spirits, "Remember, weak spirits. They're kinda like the annoying roommate I got crashin' in my deck."

Hiccup knew he meant Ojama Yellow. "I won't judge by appearances, after all small things come in big packages." He then saw something straight ahead. "Well, there's the well."

"Hey guys, look, the well!"

They made their way to the small hole in the ground and Snotlout reached into his pack and pulled out a rope ladder. After tying it to a trunk, he threw it down the hole, hearing the wooden rungs clack loudly as it became a regular ladder.

First, he went in, followed by Hiccup.

The well area underneath the ground was huge. It had many cards lying around in the dirt and on rocks.

"Check out these cards…" Hiccup looked around, "I can't believe people would toss these away."

Snotlout walked forward a bit and knelt down, looking at the cards, "It's just like Banner said."

Hiccup knelt down beside him, looking at the cards. "You could build a weak deck in no time with these cards."

"In case you knuckleheads didn't notice, this is private property!"

"Yeah, that's tellin' 'em!"

Hiccup looked at the ground in front of Snotlout to see two small spirits standing before them. One was a green coloured monster with a muscled body, bikini briefs, large white teeth, a long tongue sticking out of them, and a rather large, single, yellow eyeball.

The other was a black coloured monster, with a chubby body, identical bikini briefs, and its forehead seemed to be dominated by an over-sized nose. Unlike the green one, the black one had two eyes instead of one eye.

"Numbskulls like you ditched us here, so we don't want you here!" the black one snapped.

"Yuk, yuk yuk, yuk," the green one nodded.

Hiccup and Snotlout exchange looks. "These two are a few cards short of a deck," Snotlout muttered.

"Hey!" the black monster glared at Snotlout. "Who you calling 'short', Chowdahead?!"

"Yeah…" the green monster added with a glare.

"You," Snotlout stated bluntly. "You're nuts."

"Hey!"

"We take offense to that!"

Two more voices came next to Snotlout in the form of two more spirits. The first was small red monster, with a slightly chubby body, the same bikini briefs, but it stood out more with a yellow handkerchief around its neck and onion shaped head. He had an angry look to him.

The second was a blue coloured monster with a very slim body wearing the briefs. Its flat face carried a sort of laid-back expression, but it looks it could still cause trouble without a moment's glance.

"And you are?" Hiccup asked.

"Your worst nightmare!" The red one shouted.

"Yeah, we can really deliver the hurt." The blue one added.

"Listen," Snotlout turned back to them, "We didn't leave you here, but someone else did because you're weak."

"It's true…"

"We're weak!"

"Losers!"

"Pathetic!"

All four spirits began to bawl as the horrible truth of their strength came to light.

"You have a way with words, Snotlout!" said Hiccup as they covered their ears.

"I'm sorry!" Snotlout yelled over the crying, "I take it back, ok? Get over it!"

"We're both sorry!" Hiccup added.

"Nobody wants us!"

Ojama Yellow popped out from behind Snotlout, holding his head, "What's all the racket out here, I'm trying to sleep!"

The crying spirits stopped instantly, staring at the Ojama in disbelief.

"Is that…" the black one pointed to him.

"Could it be?" The red one gasped.

"Yes!" the green one nodded rapidly.

"Yellow?" The blue asked.

Ojama Yellow rubbed his eyes, then looked at the other spirits, "Black… Green, Red, Blue? Is that you?!"

"OUR LONG LOST BROTHER! OJAMA YELLOW!" both Black and Green cried happily along Red and Blue.

"My family!" Ojama Yellow leapt off of Snotlout's head and landed into the welcoming arms of his long lost family.

"Welcome back!" the other spirits shouted as they spun their sibling around in joy.

Hiccup watched the continued family reunion. "Wow, talk about a family reunion!"

"Yeah, maybe a dysfunctional one," Snotlout muttered as he got to his feet. "I'm going."

"Going?" Hiccup blinked. "But why?"

Ojama Yellow turned to his brothers, "Boss… isn't exactly a big fan of Duel Spirits," he warned and explained, having a strong feeling where this was gonna end up. "He might decide to leave all of you here."

"LEAVE US?!" Red and Blue yelped.

Black glared at Snotlout, "Who do you think you are?! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"I'd do what he says, he gets violent…" Green warned.

Hiccup facefaulted, "So much for weak."

"You're taking us!" The Ojamas shouted together.

"AND US TOO!" more and more spirits gathered in front of the Ojama brothers, "Don't forget about us!"

Hiccup looked at Snotlout, "Well?"

Snotlout sighed and slumped his shoulders, "Well, I guess it can't hurt." Hiccup smiled. "Fine," he looked back at the monsters, "Anyone who wants to come with me can—"

A roar of cheers echoed around the cave as all the spirits cried out happily.

"—but there's one condition," Snotlout held up his finger.

"I know!" Ojama Yellow flew at him, "Lotsa hugs, right?"

Snotlout screamed and batted the annoying monster away from him as best he could. But that couldn't stop Black and Green from joining in.

"Hugs, coming up Snotlout!" the remaining brothers shouted as they joined their yellow sibling as Snotlout stared in shock and small disgust. He did not like affection!

Hiccup laughed at Snotlout's misfortune.

* * *

The next day, the entire Duel Academy student body and faculty members attended the Obelisk Arena for the upcoming match.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, today's match will determine the fate of Duel Academy!"

Snotluot and walked up onto his end of the large duelling platform, duel disks on the left arm and deck already in it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce today's duellists. Snotlout Jorgenson vs. Spitlout Jorgenson! Are you ready to duel?" the announcer yelled into his mic.

The audience cheered loudly, showing their anticipation and excitement.

Spitlout grinned as he pulled on his duel disk over his suit sleeve. He looked right at Snotlout, "It's not too late to back out now, little brother… just tell me if you want to."

Snotlout frowned at being called that by someone who had disowned him, "What does this tell ya?" he asked, turning on his duel disk and also flipping him off.

"Bring it on, chump!" Spitlout snapped, slapping his deck into his active duel disk.

"LET'S DUEL!"

Snotlout: 4000

Spitlout: 4000

"Check this out!" Snotlout drew a card, only to slap onto his field, "I summon Soul Tiger in defense mode!"

The gang watched as a large, blue-furred tiger appeared on their friends' field. (ATK: 0/DEF: 2100)

Astrid tapped her armrest, "With that attack point handicap on Snotlout, I bet we're gonna hear that a lot."

"That was a given before this duel started." Heather stated.

"True and is up against a deck of rare cards," Ragnar added. "That's like fighting a war with water balloons."

Hiccup shrugged, "Who needs attack points when you got defence points like that?"

"You're up… Spitlout," Snotlout spat with disdain.

Spitlout noticed the distain in his voice and smirked. "Why thank you," Spitlout drew his card, "I activate the Spell card Polymerization to fuse Lord of Dragons and Divine Dragon Ragnarok."

"This isn't good," Fishlegs whimpered.

Wolflegs grimaced. "With those he can summon…"

"King Dragun!"

Along with the Lord of Dragons, came a white, serpentine dragon that fused together. The end result was the Lord of Dragon's body was now connected to a long, rainbow coloured body. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1100)

"Check out his special ability," Spitlout grinned, "Once, every turn, I can Special Summon one Dragon-Type monster from my hand," he pulled one out and slapped it onto his disk, "Like this one for example. Luster Dragon #2!"

Everyone gasped as another, emerald based Dragon appeared on the field with a deafening roar. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000)

Hiccup's eyes widened at the field, "Two monsters with 2400 attack points?!"

Snotlout shook his head, grinning, "Big whoop,"

"I think you mean 'big whooping'," Spitlout cackled, "King Dragun, attack Soul Tiger with Fire Scourge!" he ordered.

Soul Tiger was burned away.

"Luster Dragon 2 attack him directly!"

His Dragon fired a stream of fire that engulfed Snotlout, the younger Princeton screaming at the pain he felt from the blast.

Snotlout: 1600

Spitlout: 4000

"He got nailed," Hiccup murmured.

"So much for all those defense points," Speedfist shook his head.

"With a deck like that, Snotlout needs some stalling cards." Heather added. "Or monsters with good special effects."

"Let's hope he has some." Astrid added.

"There are powerful low-level monsters out there, but it all determines if Snotlout is able to draw them," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

Spitlout looked at his brother, "Your move, Snotlout…"

"About time," Snotlout drew his card, "I'll throw a monster down in defense mode, and that's all."

"That's all? This'll be over sooner than I thought!" Spitlout drew his next card, "I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode!" he paused as another Dragon made of sapphires appeared on his field, (ATK: 1900/DEF: 1600) "Don't forget Dragun's ability! With it, Hyozanryu is summoned!"

Snotlout looked up as the fourth Dragon came to the field, growling and snarling. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 2800)

"Four monsters?"

"Good for you, you can add. But, tell me little brother, how's your subtraction? Teach Snotlout a lesson, King Dragun, and take out his last monster!" Spitlout ordered.

The Fusion monster roared and fired another blast of flames at Snotlout's facedown. As the flame hit, the card was flipped upward and a sad young woman appeared, before she was blasted off the field. (ATK: 0/DEF: 100)

Spitlout snickered, but his laughter was cut short as his monsters were soon suddenly covered by hundreds of ugly, tiny creatures in cloaks.

"What's going on?!" he demanded.

"Multiplication," said Snotlout calmly, "When Unhappy Maiden is sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, hundreds of her little friends pop in and ends your turn."

Spitlout's dragons felt a dark cloud hovering over them, preventing them from moving.

Spitlout glared at him, "So you last a little bit longer… no big deal."

"Yeah, you wanna bet?" Snotlout drew his next card, "I call upon the Spirit of the Breeze in defence mode and then I activate the Spell card, The Dark Door!" he declared, slipping the card into his disk slot, "As long as this door is open for business, Spitlout, we can only attack with one monster!"

A green fairy in a long white dress appeared with a happy expression. (ATK: 0/DEF: 1800)

"Nice try, bro, but it's only a matter of time before I bust that door down," Spitlout drew his card, "Now, King Dragun attack with Fire Scourge once again!" he commanded.

King Dragun quickly destroyed Snotlout's monster.

"My turn!" Snotlout drew his card, "I play Ojama Blue in defence mode!"

"What's up?" Ojama Blue said as he appeared. (ATK: 0/DEF: 1000) But when he saw the four dragons on the field… "Dragons!" He screamed like a little girl.

Everyone sweatdropped at the screech.

"A little freak?" Spitlout scoffed.

"You can do better?" Snotlout shot back.

"You're about to find out!" Spitlout drew his card and chuckled, "With this little card, you're school is mine. But hey, first things first… Let's get that blue freak off the field! Dragun, Fire Scourge!"

"Uhh…" Blue lost his cool and started to panic. "Can't we just talk!?"

But the King didn't want to hear as he fired at the little Ojama monster.

"Goodbye cruel world!" Ojama Blue yelled as he was destroyed.

"Well, you've activated Ojama Blue's special ability!" Snotlout declared. "When he's sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I get to bring any two cards compatible with 'Ojama' from my deck!" Two cards slid out of his deck. "And I pick Ojama Red and Ojamagic!"

"More of those weaklings?" Slimelout scoffed. "This is may be longer than we thought, but it won't matter."

"Right," Spitlout nodded as he took a card from his hand. "I'll place a facedown card and end my turn."

Everyone stared in horror."

"A facedown?" Astrid frowned.

Wolflegs nodded, "And my gut says, he's planning to destroy Snotlout's Door with it."

"It's my draw!" Snotlout drew his next card.

Spitlout grinned, "Yeah, that's right, and because it is, I can activate my face down. It's a Trap called Dust Tornado! You know what's in this things path?"

"I have an inkling," said Hiccup.

"Snotlout's Dark Door," said Wolflegs.

Snotlout growled as a large twister appeared and sent his Dark Door flying into the air.

"His one defence is gone," said Speedfist. "Next turn, Spitlout can attack Snotlout with everything."

Slimelout laughed, "Well, bro, I say the school's ours."

"Prepare the wrecking ball," Spitlout smirked.

"Not so fast, bro," Snotlout held up a card, "I play Monster Reincarnation so by sending one card for my hand to the Graveyard I get to retrieve one Monster and I choose Ojama Blue!" He then sent his Ojamagic card to the graveyard to retrieve Ojama Blue."

Snotlout grinned. "And since I discarded Ojamagic, its effect activates. When this card is sent to the grave, Ojama Yellow, Black and Green come straight to my hand!" Snotlout continued, going through his deck for the three cards he needed.

"Ooh, how scary," Spitlout taunted at the move, "Three weak cards from one weak deck. Whatever will I do?" he asked mockingly.

"You'll get slammed by the Snot!" Snotlout took the other three Ojama cards into his hand, and selected another. "I play Ojama Red in Attack mode!"

"YEAH! I have arrived!?" Red appeared as he posed in front of his new boss, flashing the piece sign in the hand. (ATK: 0/DEF: 1000)

Spitlout raised an eyebrow, "What's so special about him?"

"I'll be happy to explain," Snotlout grinned, "When Ojama Red is summoned, I can summon any four 'Ojama' monsters from my hand." He held up four cards. "And it'll be the same ones I picked up: Ojama Yellow, Black, Green and Blue!"

The other four Ojama monster came together and yelled: "TA-DA!" (ATK: 0/DEF: 1000) x4

Spitlout had to hold back a laugh as the three Ojamas appeared, "You've got to be kidding! You pin the hopes of this entire Duel Academy on those freaks?!"

"That's right," Snotlout nodded, "You're about to see why. Sure, they look funny, they smell real bad, and they never shut up…"

The Ojama Brothers facefaulted at the hurtful words of their boss.

"…but these guys taught me something important!"

"They did?" said Hiccup and Ragnar in unison.

"You should eat dessert first?" said Green.

"Flies taste great?" said Black.

"That bathing is optional?" said Yellow.

"That good brothers love and support each other!"

Spitlout frowned, "So I haven't been a good bro?"

Snotlout nodded, "That's right, which is why I don't feel bad for doing this!" he slipped a card into his disk, "I play a Spell card: Ojama Delta Hurricane!" He looked to Yellow, Black and Green. "Think of this as me finalizing our separation. Do your thing, boys!"

"Right on, Boss!" the Ojama trio cried before jumping into the air.

"Yellow!"

"Black!"

"Green!"

The three of them met one another, their bikini clad rears touching, "COMBINE! OJAMA DELTA HURRICANE!"

They began to slowly spin, but that soon became a very blurry wheel as it spun so fast, no one could tell which one was which anymore. The spinning disk of Ojamas hovered directly over the four Dragons that Spitlout owned, and within seconds, a loud boom was heard, and the four monsters had vanished into a thick cloud of smoke.

"What happened!?" Spitlout demanded, "They're all gone!"

"Thanks to a thing called brotherly love!" Snotlout snapped, "Here's how it works, Snotlout, when all Ojama Yellow, Black and Green are on the field, Ojama Delta Hurricane can destroy all your monsters!"

"That's still awesome to see!" Red grinned after the dust settled.

"I wish we can do that," said Blue.

"Look who's weak now!" The original Ojama trio yelled together, "Time to take him out!"

"And let's start by playing this card United We Stand, I can boost Ojama Yellow's ATK points by 800 for every monster on my field!"

A yellow aura surrounded Ojama Yellow, boosting his power tremendously. (ATK: 0-4000)

"He's got enough!" Hiccup cheered.

"And like the card's name, me and my new friends unite together to stand against you!" Snotlout smirked.

"Wait, hold on!"

"Oh yeah, now attack…!" Snotlout commanded.

"Oh yeah!" Ojama Yellow shouted as he bent forward so his head faced Spitlout and then without warning, charged right in and headbutted him. The sudden momentum sent Spitlout back.

"No fair!" Slimelout yelled as Spitlout was hit.

Snotlout grinned, "Looks like you have the hold up with those wrecking balls!"

Snotlout: 800 (Winner)

Spitlout: 0

Everyone around them cheered wildly, excited at the fact that Snotlouthad saved the school from being torn down. Snotlout snapped his head towards the crowd and held up his arm in victory, "You guys know the cheer: SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!"

"SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI! SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT! OI, OI, OI!"

Slimelout glared at Spitlout as his brother came down off the platform.

"Imbecile!" Slimelout yelled at Spitlout, "How could you lose this?!"

Spitlout pushed him off and looked over his shoulder at his brother, "Relax, Slimelout… it's only one duel," he muttered.

Slimelout frowned, "One duel!? Look at him! That victory has turned Snotlout into a hero for them, and a major headache for us!"

* * *

"Sir, we have news on the duel that the Jorgenson's made with you,"

"And?"

"They've lost sir, and the student they chose to go against has won."

The man scoffed and turned away from his employee, looking out at the city below him, "Of course he won! You honestly think I'd give my school to those losers? Those two have a lot to learn about world domination."

* * *

That night, Snotlout lay back in his bed, not very happy as his new spirit roommates made so much noise, it could wake the dead. The main source of the noise was the Ojamas chasing one another back and forth in front of him with other monster spirits from the well.

Finally, after so long…

"GET OUT OF HERE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, swiping at the Ojamas, "I didn't sign up for this!"

Yellow floated up to him, "Aw, c'mon boss, those guys wanna be your friends! Now, let's go get some pizza!" he offered, "I call extra anchovies!"

"I don't want anchovies!" Snotlout yelled at them, "And, I don't want any friends, or roommates, or pets, or…or…or whatever it is you guys are!"

"In that case, boss, just call us family!"


	36. Duel Distractions Part 1

Speedfist stood on a high cliff, staring out at the saw as the morning sun slowly began to rise. He took a deep breath, and stretched his arms, taking in the morning air. With his morning stretches done, and his head clear, he gazed back out at the waves.

' _Ever since that duel with Viggo, things have been eerily quiet… too quiet. When the next Shadow Rider arrives, it may be my turn to duel, and with two of the nine Spirit Gates open, it's more important than ever… that I be prepared._ '

Speedfist reached into his pocket and pulled out his own Spirit Key, the thin necklace thread tied to his belt loop. He stared at the Key for a short moment, and then began to undo his blazer buttons.

After opening his blazer, Speedfist looked at the six decks he carried around on a vest. One deck was used on Snotlout that day he duelled him for the chance at Obelisk Blue. Speedfist had made these six decks to fit each attribute of monster cards. The one he used against Snotlout, the one with that used a Water Dragon, was his water-attribute deck. The other five were his Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, and Darkness decks.

' _Good thing I'm well equipped_ ,' he thought as he took out one deck and began to look through the cards. Some he recognized from previous duels, but there was one that he didn't recognize at all. It was a monster card that showed an image of a small girl in white with a white lamb hat and red pom poms on her robes. It was a White Magician Pikeru.

Speedfist raised an eyebrow and held up the card, "Where on Midgard did this card come from?" he asked himself. He looked around a few times, then back at the card, shaking his head, "Silly distraction…" he muttered, placing the card back into the deck, "Nothing distracts me!"

* * *

At the Slifer dorm, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were wasting the day away snoozing peacefully, but that in last along…

Inside Hiccup's room, Speedfist stood in the middle of the floor with Barrel Dragon just behind him. He then placed his hands over his ears with a slight smile on his face.

"Ready…" Speedfist whispered as Barrel Dragon charged and loaded the guns. "Get set…" he smirked. "And fire!"

With a shot fired, the three Slifers all woke up, falling out of their beds.

"We are under attack!" Ragnar yelled.

"I hope it's not another Shadow Rider!" Fishlegs added.

"That's getting up with a bang…" Hiccup muttered.

They all heard some laughter and turn to see their Ra friend, turning off his duel disk. "Speedfist? What's up with the wake-up call?"

"Morning sleepy heads," said Speedfist.

"Well it was good," Fishlegs muttered.

"Yes, but now that a wake, how about some good old fashion daybreak duelling exercises!" said Speedfisy

"Huh?"

* * *

And the next thing he knew after that, he was standing here with his duel disk and cards, drawing one every few seconds.

"One, two, draw! One, two, draw! One, two, draw!" Speedfist's voice broke them out of their argument before it could continue.

Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were forced to go through this ridiculous duelling exercises their Ra Yellow friend had woken them up for.

"Yeah, this was so worth getting up for," Hiccup muttered under his breath.

"Quiet," Fishlegs whispered as he drew, "You'll make me lose count."

Ragnar looked over at the card Fishlegs and just drawn and took the Slifer's hand, holding it still so he can get a better look at it. The card was a monster card, which had the picture of a cute girl with red hair, small cat ears, and a leopard-skin leotard.

"Hey, isn't that Thunder Nyan-Nyan?" he asked.

Fishlegs smiled and took the card back, "Yeah, it is. I got her a little while ago," he blushed lightly, "I sorta have a card crush on her," he confessed.

"A card crush, that's so lame, Fishlegs," Ragnar pulled out a card and showed it to him, "Don't tell Heather about this."

Fishlegs laughed as he looked at the Queen's Knight card Ragnar showed him, "My lips are sealed." He then turned around, "Hey, Hiccup, you have any card crushes in your deck?" he asked loudly.

Hiccup grinned, stopping in his exercise and pulled out Stormfly, "if I had to choose someone it would have to be Stormfly!"

"Nice choose," Fishlegs improved.

The three Slifers turned back to see Speedfist, with an unhappy look on his face.

"I thought we were training here!" he snapped, "And training, gentlemen, does not include standing around and talking about birds!"

"Did he say 'birds'?" Ragnar whispered to Fishlegs.

The larger Slifer leaned to the side, "Ya know what? I'm starting to think that Speedfist doesn't have a card crush."

"A crush on a card?! Of course not!" Speedfist snapped again, "That's just illogical, irrational, inexcusably ridiculous!"

At that moment, a memory flash of the White Magician Pikeru card came to his mind and he stopped in his harsh words. Quickly coming back to his sense, Bastion shook his head, forgetting about the card.

"Look, let's just get back to our duelling exercises, alright?" he sighed.

Fishlegs nodded, "Sure, but I do have plans to play Solitaire with Thunder Nyan-Nyan in about fifteen minutes," he said, holding up the card again.

"WHAT?!"

Speedfist's outburst made Fishlegs fall over, startled by the apparently crazed Ra. Hiccup and Ragnar laughed at his collapse.

"You'll be breaking that date, and soon, breaking a sweat!" said Speedfist firmly, hand going back to his duel disk, "Now, gentlemen, back to our duel training!"

Fishlegs groaned as he climbed to his feet, "That means the dog house for me; Nyan-Nyan hates it when I cancel on her…"

Hiccup shook his head at his roommate, "Somehow… I think she'll understand."

"You think?" Fishlegs looked up at him.

Ragnar nodded, "Totally, but somehow I think Heather will be quite as forgiving."

"Then you better go meet her with a hardhat," Hiccup advised.

"I might just do that," said Ragnar.

* * *

Later that day, the Slifer Boys, Speefist, and a small handful of other students from different dorms sat in Gobber's Alchemy class.

Gobber frowned at the sight of so many empty seats, "There certainly a lot of absences today. Perhaps there's a bug going around."

' _None that I've heard of,_ ' Speedfistthought, looking around at the empty seats, ' _There's definitely something strange in the air… well…_ ' his eyes roamed over to Snotlout, who was trying to gain Astrid's attention by flexing his muscles, ' _Besides Snotlout's failed attempt of courtship_.'

The sound of the door hissing open made Gobber turn to see a young lady in yellow walking up to him, holding a duffel bag.

"Can I help you?" the Slifer head asked her.

"Well," the lady in leaned in close to him, "Do you recognize this bag?" she whispered.

Gobber looked down at the bag, "Yes, it belongs to one of my students, why?"

While the girl whispered some more to Gobber, Hiccup look to the duffel bag with great interest. He looked at the other Key-Keepers and judging by the looks on their faces they too came with the same conclusion.

* * *

After class, Hiccup led Astrid, Ragnar, Fishlegs, Snotlout and Gobber through the woods, holding his own bag close to him.

"Wonder why that pack was left all the way out here…?" he wondered aloud, walking through a thick area of trees.

Speedfist nodded, "Indeed… also, where the owner of the pack is right now?"

"I hope that no one is hurt," Gobber added, worriedly.

Heather looked around, "Maybe they just went camping and forgot about it?" she offered.

"Or maybe lost their way around the forest?" Ragnar added.

"I don't think it's that simple…" said Fishlegs. "Everyone should know their way around the island by now, even in getting out of the forest area."

* * *

After what seemed like hours of walking, the group of duellists exited the forest and entered a large clearing, surprised at what stood before them. A very large stone and wooden structure loomed nearby, against a small cliff. It looked just like an old coliseum from ancient Rome or Greece.

"Where did this come from?" Hiccup asked, staring at it.

"Yeah, it's not exactly hard to miss," said Ragnar.

Speedfist frowned. "I'm going in," he declared before taking off ahead of the others.

The group ran, following him into the large building and stopped shortly after coming in. Inside, stone seats and pillars decorated the interior of the coliseum. But that's not what got their attention. About a dozen of Academy Students from every dorm were in different areas of the coliseum, handling large stone blocks and working with ropes to drag the stones around.

Fishlegs pointed to one of them, "That guy's from class!"

"Him too!" Ragnar pointed to another student.

"I have noticed that most of the students missing were guys," Snotlout pondered suspiciously. "I just thought it was a coincidence. Now we have living proof…"

"I'll tell you another thing, everyone here are all guys," Heather noted.

"Not all," said Astrid pointing.

Everyone looked after was pointing and stared.

"Ruff? Tuff?"

Indeed it was the twins and the two of them were trying to move a large stone block with a crowbar.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup called out to them.

Tuffnut looked at them and smiled proudly, "A man's work!"

"Yeah, little bit of hard work never hurt anyone," said Ruffnut.

"They must be running very short on men," Ragnar whispered to Fishlegs, who nodded.

A loud roar made the group look back ahead to see a huge tiger standing right in front of them.

"Tiger!" Ragnar yelled.

The tiger roared again and began to run at the group. Screaming, they all ran to a large pillar on the other side of the arena, not really wanting to be a part of the tiger's dinner.

Gobber looked behind him, "First a coliseum, now a tiger! What's next, a gladiator?!" he yelped as he followed his students into climbing up the large stone pillar.

"Actually, I think she prefers the term of Amazon!" Tuffnut yelled over the tiger's growling.

"Amazon?!" Gobber yelled.

"That's right," said a voice.

Everyone on the pillar looked back behind the tiger to see an impressive looking woman. The woman had a well-built body, tight black pants, long red hair tied into a ponytail, a set of golden bracelets and a spike collar around her neck… and two long scars that went from above her right eye all the way down to her chin. To finish off her ensemble, she had this duel disk that had a perfectly straight field wing, and the entire disk was a silvery colour with laced edges. The woman jumped off a high ledge and landed on the ground, smiling.

"I've been able to finally finish… by glorious arena," she said proudly.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the woman as the tiger went over to her, "Arena… for what?" he asked.

The woman smirked as she petted the tiger, who was by the way, almost as tall as her, "Duelling, of course."

Hiccup and watched as the missing students and the twins lined up a short distance away. The woman pulled out a stack of envelopes and walked over to them, beaming.

"Job well done!" she praised, "Who would've thought that Duel Academy students were such good labourers?" she started to hand out an envelope to each student, "Now, as promised, here's your payment. Some rare cards, well-deserved I might add. Until next time."

With her tiger now on a leash Hiccup and the others began to climb down from the pillar and he looked directly at. "What is going on!?" he demanded.

The woman chuckled and turned around, facing him, "What does it look like? I'm setting up the stage, Key-Keeper, for your vanquishing. I'm one of the Shadow Riders," she explained.

Hiccup stared at her, "Uh-oh…"

"A Shadow Rider?" Fishlegs repeated, "Oh Thor…"

"No kidding," said Ragnar, walking up beside him and Astrid, "Amazon's are a warrior race of all females like the Valkyries."

Astrid whistled, "Wow… you go, girl!"

"Ditto!" Heather added.

The Amazonian nodded a little, "I am Tania and now that the battleground has been established, it's time that we battle!" She looked at the group of students, "Now then… which of you big strong men will it be?" she asked teasingly, before taking a glance at Astrid and Heather, "After all, I'd never harm a sister."

"Hey, don't do us any favours," Astrid shot back at her.

"Yeah. I'm not scared of you!" Heather added.

"Shhh!" Fishlegs shushed them. "Two keys will be safe!" They frowned, but saw the strategy in that and didn't argue anymore.

"So, who wants to be the first one to duel and lose?" Tania challenged, looking at the group.

"Right here!" Hiccup stepped up.

"Yours truly!" Snotlout added, joining the Slifer at his side.

"I'll duel you!" Speedfist declared.

"You can count me in," said Ragnar stepping forwards.

"Age before beauty," said Gobber sternly.

Tania looked at the boys, "Hmm… if this is really the best you have to offer, then I guess I'll pick…" she pointed to the third duellist, "…you!"

Hiccup, Ragnar, Snotlout and Gobber looked to the side at Speedfist, who was smiling a little bit.

"Well, I guess you can't win 'em all," Snotlout muttered, as they all walked over to the stands with everyone else.

Tania and Speedfist walked towards each other, leaving a good distance between them for the duel.

"What's your name?" the muscular woman asked.

"Speedfist," the Ra answered, "Speedfist Boilson."

"You can do this," said Hiccup.

"Don't go easy on her because she's a girl!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Him going easy on her?" Ragnar questioned. "I'd be more concerned of her not going easy on him."

"All right, let's do this," Speedfist tore open his blazer to reveal his six-deck vest, "The only question is which deck I shall use?"

Tania grinned a little, "Really? I have that problem, too. I have two decks," she held up two separate set of cards to prove her point, "One is a deck of Knowledge, and the other is a deck of Courage." She tilted her head to the side. "Why don't you go ahead and pick which one for me to use?"

"Fine then," Speedfist looked at the decks for a few moments, "I'll pick the deck of Knowledge."

Tania chuckled as she inserted her Knowledge deck into her disk, "Nice choice...,"

"Thank you, but it's not nearly as nice as the choice I'm making for myself," Speedfist looked down and took the middle deck on the left side of his vest, "I select my Earth-attribute deck." He declared slipping it into his disk.

"Let us begin!" Tania ordered, turning on her disk, "Don't worry, this isn't a Shadow Game…"

"Beg your pardon?"

"You heard me," Tania shot back, moving from side to side in her place, as if filled with giddy, "I don't want your soul, I want you big boy!"

Speedfist almost fell over while the rest of the gang stared in shock and some with disgust.

"It's like this: my tribe is all women. So, to marry, I gotta shop around."

"To marry?!" Speedfist gawked at her.

"That's hun… so let's do this," Tania winked at him, smiling.

Both Tania and Bastion drew their cards as their points went to full count.

"DUEL!"

Tania: 4000

Speedfist: 4000

"I'll start this duel," Tania drew her sixth card, "and first, I'll summon the Amazoness Swordswoman in attack mode!"

With a battle-cry, a large, well-built woman with wild, red hair appeared, holding a long, curved blade tightly in her hands. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)

Tania slipped a card into her disk, "I'll also place one card facedown and end my turn."

"I'm up then," Speedfist drew his card, "I summon to the field Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus in attack mode!"

A strange monster carrying a slab-like shield and strange rectangular armour appeared label with the Plus symbol. (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500)

"Now, Magnet Warrior, attack that Amazoness!" Bastion pointed to the Swordswoman. "Lode Stone Baton Bash!"

The Magnet Warrior raised its staff as it charged with crackling energy and everyone watched as it collided with the Swordswoman, destroying her in a mighty blow. But something strange happened. Fishlegs noticed this when he saw the Life Point meters.

Tania: 4000

Speedfist: 3700

"Why did Bastion just lose Life Points?" the small Slifer asked.

Tania smiled, "because of my Amazoness' ability. Her opponent takes all battle damage that was dealt to her."

Ragnar shook his head, "Speedfist walked right into that one."

Astrid nodded, "That's not like him at all…"

"No, that is like him," Hiccup leaned forward, taking a look at Bastion's expression. "Think about it, sure, he has fewer Life Points at the moment, but Tania has fewer monsters!" He grinned. "Smart move…"

"Yeah, until I play my facedown card!" Tania cried as her card became upright, "It's called Pride of Tribe. This Trap card activates whenever an Amazoness' is destroyed, and it lets me summon another one from my deck. So tell me who is the smart one now?" she asked with a smile as another Amazoness Swordswoman appeared on her field. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)

"You see, you miscalculated with that last move. After all, now we have the same amount of monsters… but not the same amount of Life Points!"

Speedfist looked at her, breathing deeply, then slipped a card into his disk, "Fine. I'll place a card facedown… and that will suffice."

A dreamy look entered Tania's eyes, "That will suffice? Say it again!" she begged, "It sounded so cool!"

Fishlegs turned to Hiccup, "You know, I think it's been a couple of years since Tania's been with a guy."

"Couple of years, Legs?" Hiccup shook his head, "I'll say decades… this lady is man-crazy!"

Speedfist smiled a little, "I'm quite flattered, but I'm well aware of what you're trying to do. You're trying to distract me, but I'll tell you right now my dear, it's not going to work, I'm too focused."

"Are you now? We'll see about that. I summon the Amazoness Blowpiper." A woman with long blue hair and holding a blowpipe with a small skull at the end rose beside her ally. (ATK: 800/DEF: 1500)

"And I play my face-down," Speedfist interrupted. "Magnet Force Minus." A flash of red electrical energy shot out from the trap and enveloped Tania's new monster. "When this is activated, it can equip onto one monster, then that monster gains a negative magnetism, and becomes what's known as a minus monster. And from there, dear, it gets interesting. You see, two minus monsters, well, I'm afraid they're not allowed to engage in battle with each other. But… a minus and a plus, if they're out, they must fight."

"So, since Amazoness Blowpiper is a minus monster…"

"And Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus is a plus monster… it's on!" Sparks flew between the two opposite charge monsters. "You've heard that old quote 'opposites attract.' Well I'm afraid it's true."

"I know it. After all, just look at the two of us."

"Oh, stop it!" said Speedfsit, annoyed.

"Stop it, why don't I just stop you from winning this battle instead. Go, Amazoness Spellcaster! Now, one Amazoness and one monster you control switch their original attack points with each other." The Amazoness stood a little higher and she increased in strength, while Bastion's magnet warrior dropped down as he lost power. (ATK: 800-1800)(ATK: 1800-800)

"This is bad!" Fishlegs moaned.

"No joke it's bad," Gobber butt in. "Now Bastion's monster is outmatched."

"Amazoness Blowpiper, attack!" The named monster blew into her pipe, shooting out a dart which flew across the field and struck Sigma plus in the chest area, blowing it away.

Tania: 4000

Speedfist: 2700

"And now, Amazoness Swordswoman will attack you directly. Go, Amazon Slash Attack." The sword wielding woman jumped into the air and came down swinging her blade at Speedfist.

Tania: 4000

Speedfist: 1200

"But how?" Speedfist wondered out loud. "That's the second time she's been able to outthink me."

"I guess we know where our kids are going to get their smarts from."

"WHAT! OUR KIDS! We are enemies, rivals!"

"During this duel we are, but afterwards, we'll be betrothed to each other. Just think about it, you'll be Mr. Tania the Amazon woman."

"Gross…" Heather muttered.

"I don't know what's worse losing your soul or marrying her?" said Ragnar shuddering slightly.

"You're relentless," Speedfist sighed. "Truly, are you that smitten with me?"

"I prefer in love…"

"You hardly know me!"

"I know enough… my little sugar booger."

' _Keep your cool, Speedfist_ ,' the Ra boy angrily thought to himself. ' _She's just trying to distract you. Like those silly card crushed distract Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs. But you've always been above all that_.' An image of White Magician Pikeru came to his mind, at which he gripped his head with both hands. "NO! Get out! I'm above all this!"

The gang all sweat dropped at seeing his odd behaviour. "Speedfist sure is acting weird," Hiccup noted.

"Love works in mysterious ways," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head.

"QUIET!" he shouted. "I'm not in love!" He turned back to the duel. ' _And I'll prove it, by taking Tania down_.' "My turn. Right, I activate Magnet Conductor Plus, this allows me to bring a plus monster from the graveyard to my hand. So come on back Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus. However, he won't be out for long, because he and the Magnet Warrior Omega Minus from my hand are now going right back into the graveyard so that I can summon Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus." An impressive yellow and purple armored monolith appeared on Bastion's field, with a cannon on each shoulder. (ATK: 2700/DEF: 1300)

"And now I'll activate Warrior Magnum Plus Minus' special ability. It adds half the attack points of one Magnet monster on the field to the Warrior Magnum's attack points." The still lingering electricity around Tania's Blowpiper sparked to life, giving Bastion's monster more power. (ATK: 2700-3100)

"He's got her outmatched now," said Hiccup.

"Now, Warrior Magnum, attack Amazoness Blowpiper, with Polarizing Pulverizing Blast!" The Powerhouse monster charged up its cannons and fired off a blast of energy, blowing away Tania's monster and most of her life-points.

Tania: 1700

Speedfist: 1200

"Next I'll place two more cards face-down and I think that'll do." (ATK: 3100-2700)

"What a move, no wonder I love you. And, sweetie, because I do, I must beat you. And with Swords Woman's special ability, where even if she loses in battle you take all the damage. I will win."

"Now Amazoness Swordswoman strike down Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus with Amazon Slash Attack." The Amazoness monster dashed forward, sword at the ready.

' _This is it_ ," Sppedfist thought. ' _I better think fast all this duel is going to be over fast_.'

"Amazon Slash Attack! Tania yelled.

"Sorry, but I play a face-down," Speedfist declared. "Power Off. Now Warrior Magnum Plus Minus splits back into the two monsters that originated him."

"No fair!" Speedfist protested, as her swordswoman swung her sword, only to miss as her target split apart, into Sigma Plus and Omega Minus, a similar magnet monster, except that it was a dark bluish colour, and was wielding a sword and square shield. (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500) (ATK: 1900/DEF: 600)

"That was close," said Hiccup.

"Yes, I agree," Speedfist replied.

"Guess I'll just have to get you next turn," said Tania. "And with Amazoness Paladin, you can be sure I will." A woman wearing a light brown, sleeveless battle dress appeared next to her ally. She had blond hair, a short hooded cape, and held a straight edge sword. (ATK: 1700/DEF: 300)

"Because my Paladin… she gains an extra 100 attack points for every card on my field with Amazoness in its name, herself included." (ATK: 1700-1900)

"Next, I place two cards face-down. And that'll do for now."

' _Well… at least she's concentrating on the duel instead of on me,_ ' Speedfist thought to himself. "All right, it's my move now."

"Speaking of move, sweetie…" Tania spoke up. "I think… it's probably best that you move in with me. You know, after we get married? We'll just have the coziest home sweet home." Speedfist had a stunned expression on his face at this. "I'm sorry honey. Am I distracting you again with this talk about how much I love you? And how positively handsome you are? Oh, there I go again." The Ra boy held a hand over his heart as he blushed. "I guess I just can't help myself. I'm head over heels."

"Yes… me too... Tania."

"You have gotta be kidding me." Astrid shook her head.

Heather winced in disgust.

"Is this a duel or soap opera," said Ragnar rubbing his forehead.

"I know, I dunno how much more I can take?" said Hiccup, who looked like he was going to be sick.

"And what's worse Speedfist is getting all flushed… and all sidetracked," Gobber noted.

"Alright, my turn!" Speedfist declared, drawing his card. "First off, I summon Magnet Warrior Sigma Minus in attack mode." A robotic like monster appeared on the field, with green arms and legs, its main body blue and beige, and carrying a spiked club in one hand. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1800)

"Next, I'll play my face-down, 100000 Gauss. You see, I can activate this when I have a plus monster and a minus monster out on my field. It lets me switch one of your monsters into attack mode, and reduce its attack points by 800. But since your Paladin is already in attack mode, I'll just go ahead and drain her points." (ATK: 1900-1100)

"All right!" Hiccup commented. "Now Speedfist's got the monsters and the match up he needs. This duel is totally in the bag.""

"I would think so too," Tania spoke up. "Except that I have this card out, Dramatic Rescue. When one of my Amazoness monsters is targeted by an effect, this lets me return it to my hand, and summon a different one in its place. And as you're about to see, this one is very different indeed. Come out, Amazoness Tiger." A perfect copy of Tania's pet tiger appeared in front of her. (ATK: 1100/DEF: 1500)

"And don't try catching this tiger by the toe, because she gains 400 attack points for each Amazoness out on the field." (ATK: 1100-1900)

"Not good," said Ragnar.

"And, when this card's on my field, you're not allowed to attack any other Amazoness monsters but it."

"So… there's no choice?" Astrid wondered. "He has to attack that tiger?"

"It looks like it," Heather pitched in.

' _It's simple_ ,' Bastion thought to himself. ' _I have three magnet warriors out. I'll use Omega Minus to eliminate Amazoness Tiger. Then, Sigma minus to destroy Amazoness Swords Woman. Then, I'll use Sigma Plus to attack Tania directly and win_.' He went over.

"This has been a fun duel, but I'm afraid it's about to be over! Go, Magnet Warrior Omega Minus. Attack and tame that Amazoness Tiger!"

"Speedfist don't!" Hiccup yelled.

"You must be distracted," Tania noted. "Otherwise you most certainly would have seen that I have a face-down card, Amazoness Archers. Sorry hun, but now all of your monsters are forced into attack mode and lose 600 attack points."

(ATK: 1800-1200) (ATK: 1900-1300) (ATK: 1500-900)

"Also, they're all forced to wage battle, right this instant."

"But if they do that, they'll have to attack that tiger," Fishlegs pointed out.

"And that tiger of hers has more attack points than any of them, enough to win this match," Ragnar added.

"He walked right into a trap," Snotlout stated. "What was he thinking!"

"That's just it. With all that love talk, I doubt he was," said Gobber.

The three magnet warriors then leapt into the air, coming towards the Amazon woman's tiger. "Now, Amazoness Tiger, show Bastion that opposites don't just attract, they attack. Sic em. Fang Frenzy." Then, with three lightning swipes, Bastion's monsters were all destroyed, exploding in a cloud of smoke.

Tania: 1700 (Winner)

Speedfist: 0

"I'm… all yours," said Speedfist in a love struck voice as the holograms disappeared. He then fell to his knees, and collapsed on the ground, his spirit gate key fading away.

Upon seeing his defeat, the students and Gobber came down to the main part of the arena, intent on checking up on the Speedfist.

"Speedfist!"

"Kitty…" Tania commanded, at which her real live tiger, advanced, immediately prompting them all to change direction and run towards the exit. Fortunately, just after they got outside, a gate came down behind them, preventing the tiger from chasing them further. But, after a moment, they took into account the fact that with it, Speedfist was trapped inside and they couldn't help him.

"Oh no, Speedfist," said Hiccup and automatically began pounding the gate. "Hey!"

"Sorry guys, Speedfist and I are officially on our honey moon now," Tania's voice mocked them. "So get lost!"

"This isn't over!" Hiccup yelled, hands gripping the gate bars. "You hear me!"


	37. Duel Distractions Part 2

The night after his defeat, Speedfist's screams of agony echoed throughout the dark sky as Hiccup and the others huddled around a small campfire, taking in the painful cries.

Heather looked worried over at the gates. "Poor Speedfist…" she muttered.

Astrid sighed and poked the fire, "I hate to hear Speedfist suffering like that and not being able to help."

"No joke," Snotlout nodded, "They've been duelling all night, and from those screams, it sounds like Speedfist's been losing all night."

"How long can this go on?" Gobber thought aloud.

Hiccup rose to his feet, having had enough of just sitting around doing nothing. "We gotta do something!"

"I agree we can't just sit around and do nothing," said Ragnar.

A low rumbling sound began to emanate from the coliseum, making everyone look towards it.

Fishlegs quivered slightly. "What is that…?" he whimpered.

Everyone else watched as Speedfist slowly walked out of the coliseum gateway, looking as though he was beaten down, emotionally speaking.

"Speedfist?!" Hiccup ran to his friend, followed quickly by the others, "Speedfist, are you okay?"

Speedfist only fell over, but made it to his knees since Hiccup caught him before he could hit his head on anything.

"What happened to you in there?" Fishlegs asked, standing over him.

The only reply was a sorrowful look in Speedfist's eyes.

"I think he just got out of his 'relationship,'" Hiccup noted in quotations.

"You mean she dumped you," said Ragnar slightly shocked.

Speedfist nodded, "Yes… I'm crushed."

"You're not crushed, you're lucky," Snotlout muttered.

Gobber frowned, "I don't understand. She was so smitten with you yesterday…"

Speedfist sighed and looked up at the sky, "I know… we were to be married!" he groaned, earning surprised looks from the others as well as some disgusted ones from Ragnar and Heather. "But she decided I wasn't duellist enough…"

* * *

Speedfist fell to the dirt as the last of his Life Points went down to zero.

Tania glared at him, "You're not worthy… beat it!"

Speedfist gasped.

"I need someone. Someone who is at my level," Tania mused as she turned away from

Groaning, Speedfist slowly sat up and watched the Amazon duellist walk off towards the inner archway, "My love…"

* * *

"I wasn't good enough for her, and she's left me forever. She said she wants a champion, a duellist who can give her a match that she'll always remember."

Everyone wondered about that as he got up off the ground and wandered back to the Ra dorm.

* * *

That afternoon, Speedfist stood at a large window in the halls of Duel Academy, head propped up as he gazed out at the island. The images of the Amazon still fresh in his mind, as well as the memories of the duels.

He sighed, ' _Tania…_ ' he thought as he replayed their first duel over in his head, remembering all of the attacks and moves that had transpired yesterday with absolute clarity and accuracy.

Speedfist snapped back to reality soon after, holding his head, "Oh, Tania!"

A few feet away, Hiccup, Ragnar, Astrid and Heather were watching him.

Hiccup frowned, "Still not over that Amazon, huh?"

Astrid nodded, "Yeah, I've never seen him like this. I had no idea he had fallen that hard over her."

"Yeah…" Ragnar looked at his fellow Key-Keepers, "Really, it's kinda weird to see Speedfist of all people to do that over a girl," he sighed. "But I think I understand."

"I think I do too," Heather nodded. "He's unbalanced his emotions."

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.

"He didn't keep his emotions in check." Ragnar replied. "It's like anger clouding people's judgment; it takes over, you make poor decisions."

"I see what you mean," said Astrid.

"Yeah, but if you can keep it together, you make the right moves, regardless of the situation." Hiccup finished.

"There must be something we can do," said Heather.

* * *

Speedfist entered the Obelisk Duel Arena and stopped shortly after, seeing a crowd of people there, waiting for him. Hiccup, Astrid, Ragnar, Heather, Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins and even Wolflegs were looking at him quietly.

He scowled at them, "What do the lot of you want?"

Hiccup held up his deck, "A duel to cheer you up, man, how about it?"

"I can't…" Speedfist slowly shook his head, "It's too soon for me."

"You've gotta move on Speedfist!" Hiccup urged him, not liking to see his friend like this.

Speedfist looked at him, "I just can't duel… without my Tania…"

"Speedfist, I hate saying this, but she's probably duelling someone else besides you," Hiccup pointed out.

Speedfist let out a light gasp, then shook his head, "No, she wouldn't! Not my Tania!"

"Oh, gag me…" Tuffnut muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to be sick," said Ruffnut.

"You don't understand!" Speedfist snapped, "We had passion!"

"Uh…" Hiccup blinked, confused at Speedfist's words, "Say what?"

Speedfist looked up at the ceiling, the smitten look never leaving for a second, "When I first dueled Tania, there were fireworks between us! You saw how our cards danced that dangerous Duel Monsters dance together! It was beautiful, majestic… and if I can't have that feeling when I duel… then." His shoulders slumped. "My life duelling… it's all finished."

"Sounds like you and me, Astrid," said Snotlout placing a hand over Astrid's shoulders.

Astrid responded by tossing him over her shoulder.

Wolfegs then returned the conversation back on track. "But Speedfist, she's a Shadow Rider!" he reminded him. "We have the world to save, we need you!"

"Yeah, you may have lost your key; doesn't mean you can't continue helping out the rest of us." Heather told him.

"You can't just pack your deck and call it a day," said Astrid.

Speedfist sighed. "I thought you two would understand…"

"Huh?" The two Obelisk girls wondered.

"You two understand about duelling with passion?" Speedfist asked.

"Beg pardon?" Astrid blinked.

"Sorry, as much as all of you require my deck, but until I prove to Tania that I'm a worthy man, my duelling days are through now and forever!"

"All right, that's it. I'm gonna go to the bathroom and hurl…" Ruffnut muttered.

"You and me both, sister," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup sighed. "There's nothing for it, I'll have duel Tania."

Everyone stared at him.

"Hiccup, you can't be serious?" said Astrid.

"Listen I need to show that you don't need to be in love to duel with passion and the only way I can do that is by duelling her myself," said Hiccup crossing his arms.

"You do realise that if you lose your end up marrying her," Ragnar pointed out.

"Hopefully it won't come to that," said Hiccup. "And if it does just kill me."

* * *

Back at the Coliseum…

The Amazon woman seethed with anger and pounded her chest like a gorilla.

The Shadow Rider growled in anger, "This island has nothing but weaklings! I need a worthy partner, someone who isn't intimidated by my power!" she punched a nearby wall a few times, and then jump kicked the ceiling, sending a chunk of rock crashing to the floor. It scared her tiger out of its wits.

"If that duellist can't find me, then I'll find him!" Tania swore, making her way to the exit. Her tiger followed after her while the ceiling fell in behind them.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup made his way over to the coliseum, followed by the rest of the gang.

"Couldn't have this waited until morning?!" Snotlout muttered.

"NO! TANIA!" Speedfist yelled.

"Dose that answer your question?" Heather asked and Snotlout mumbled to himself.

A loud growling made them all look off to the side, startled.

"It's her…" Speedfist gasped.

Then Tania's tiger jumped over the bushes with her riding on her back.

Tania shook her head, "Can't you take a hint? I already dumped you, don't you remember?"

"Don't worry, he's not here for you, I'm here just to prove a point," said Hiccup taking a step forward.

Tania looked at him with great interest. "My, don't you have fire. And might I ask what this point is?"

"You'll find out when we duel," said Hiccup.

Tania smiled. "Well, you've caught my interest. Very well, let's see what you've got."

"Oh no…" Astrid muttered.

"This is not gonna go well…" Heather stated.

* * *

Soon after, Tania and Hiccup were standing opposite each other in the middle of the coliseum, with everyone else watching from the side-lines. "You know the rules," said Tania as she held up her two decks for Hiccup to see. "If you lose this duel, you lose your spirit key and single status. Meaning you move into this battle arena with me and become my husband forevermore."

"I sure hope Hiccup knows what he's doing," said Ragnar.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," said Hiccup with a firm expression on his face. "And when I'm done here, Speedfist will know that you don't have to be in love to duel with passion."

' _Even though you're kinda a hypocrite with that statement_.' Toothless appeared behind him and he ignored him.

"So, wadda you say we start this, hun?" Tania asked Hiccup. Both of them then inserted their decks and started up their duel disks.

"Let's duel!"

Hiccup: 4000

Tania: 4000

"I'll start things off," said Hiccup as he drew a card. "I'll start things by summoning Dragon Knight Fanghook in defence mode!"

Appearing on Hiccup's field was the eager looking knight in a defence position. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 800)

"That's your move?" Tania drew her card disgusted, "Well, I have someone to disarm your knight. I summon Amazoness Paladin!" She watched as her blonde warrior appeared before her. "While she's out on the field, she gains an extra 100 attack points for every monster on the field that has 'Amazoness' in its name." (ATK: 1700-1800/DEF: 300)

"Next," Tania held up another card, "I play this Spell, Amazoness Charm! This card switches all the monsters you have on your field in defence mode, to attack mode and gives them an extra 200 attack points!"

Fanghook started to blush at the sight of the Paladin and stood up. (ATK: 1400-1600)

Tuffnut frowned at the move, "I don't get it. Why would she play a card that increases her opponent's attack power?"

"For the thrill of it!" Speedfist explained heatedly, "The passion!"

"Oh, brother," Ruffnut groaned.

"Yes?" Tuffnut asked.

"So, are we enjoying the night so far?" Tania asked Hiccup. "I hope you're not getting distracted."

"Not at all!" Hiccup shrugged, "In this duel, I plan on giving you my full attention on the battlefield!"

Tania held up another card. "Maybe this will make you reconsider! The card known as Amazoness Arena! When this card activates, we both gain 600 Life Points and it's just not distracting," She smiled as a huge cage arena appeared, rising from the dirt around them and closing around them creating a dome of metal bars, "it's captivating."

Hiccup: 4600

Tania: 4600

Snotlout looked at the cage. "Wow… she must really be desperate to find a husband if she has to use a cage."

"I'm glad I'm not fighting her," said Ragnar.

Tania chuckled, looking at her cage. "You see, Amazoness Arena is a sacred arena. In here, you don't just fight with your monster, you fight with your soul!" she explained, waving her arms to show the cage some more.

"Come again?" Hiccup asked. "Just how do I do that?" He asked slowly.

"Oh, you'll find out. But first, Amazoness Paladin attacks your Fanghook!"

The blonde warrior dashed over to Hiccup's field and slashed her straight blade hard and swift across Fanghook's chest. The young knight didn't stand a chance and blew up in a cloud of flame and smoke.

Tania: 4600

Hiccup: 4400

"Now, you will see the power of my Arena! When our monsters are done, your soul can duel mine. So, you sacrifice 100 of your Life Points to take away 100 of mine," Tania explained.

"Well, I'm not accustomed to hitting women. It's not something I particularly think is right," said Hiccup.

"And you shouldn't, but this isn't a fight between us, physically. You see, like I said, our souls will clash."

Hiccup sighed before relenting and going through with it. Both his and Tania's souls appeared in front of them in transparent form. While Tania's looked just like her, Hiccup's caused everyone to gasp.

Both of them then leapt forward, meeting in mid aid in the middle of the arena. Hiccup threw a punch, only to miss and get hit by Tania's counterattack, falling back to the other end of the arena.

Hiccup: 4300

Tania: 4500

Everyone deciding an explanation can be given later, they turned back to the duel. "Hiccup!" Ragnar cried out, worried after seeing him get hit.

"C'mon, this is embarrassing for all of us guys!" Snotlout added.

Hiccup then jumped back up and punched her with his left hand.

Hiccup: 4200

Tania: 4400

"That's not a bad left hook," said Tania with a grin rubbing her cheek.

"What the- She compliments his attack?" Snotlout exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't she great?" said Speedfist in a love struck voice.

"If you liked that, you're gonna love this," Hiccup drew his next card, "I use Polymerization to fuse Dragon Knights Bard and Belch to Fusion Summon the Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman!"

Everyone watched as Hiccup's Heroes combined and formed the larger darker green knight within a few seconds.

"Nice move," said Ragnar with a nod.

Astrid smiled, "A real nice move! Twin Swordsman's special ability allows him to attack twice in one turn!"

"Guess this is goodbye, Paladin, because Twin Swordsman is going to attack her with Twin Dragon Sword Slash." Twin Swordsman slashed one of his blades at Paladin blasting Tania with a shockwave from the explosion.

Hiccup: 4200

Tania: 3800

"And now going to use your arena's ability against you," said Hiccup.

"Wait, now Hiccup is using the soul attack?" Astrid blinked.

Like before both their souls appeared on the field.

Hiccup: 4100

Tania: 3700

Then like before their soul traded blows knocking each of them back.

Hiccup: 4000

Tania: 3600

"You know," said Hiccup as they returned to their bodies. "I thought hitting like a girl was a bad thing,"

"Oh… it's a bad thing all right," Tania grinned, "For you!" She commented.

"I'll tell you what else is bad and that's Twin Swordsman's second attack," said Hiccup as Twin Swordsman charged at Tania striking her down with his second sword and the impact knocked her off her feet.

Hiccup: 4000

Tania: 1200

Hiccup saw that Tania wasn't moving. "Tania, are you ok?" he called out to the Shadow Rider.

Tania slowly sat up and rubbed her jaw with her strange gauntlet, "Not bad, Hiccup. You're my kind of guy."

"Uh, Speedfist," Gobber turned to the love-stricken Ra, "I think Tania's falling for Hiccup…"

"Course not! She would never leave me!"

Heather rolled her eyes, "I guess love can be blind."

Tania growled and flipped back onto her feet, "All right, my turn!" she drew her card, smiling at what she had drawn, "First, I'll put down a facedown, then I'll summon Amazoness Swordswoman in attack mode," the female warrior from Speedfist's duel appeared on the field. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)

"Then I think I'll use Amazoness Charm to rip apart your Twin Swordsman…" she slipped the last card into her slot and watched as Twin Swordsman disappeared from the field, leaving Barf and Belch on the field.

"Now, let's fight! Swordswoman, attack Belch with Amazon Slash Attack!"

The burly swordswoman ran over and cleaved her curved blade straight through Belch. The Knight began to slide apart in different directions, then blew up in small puff of smoke.

Hiccup: 3600

Tania: 1200

"Now, thanks to my Amazoness Arena, it's time we had a rematch!"

Hiccup: 3500

Tania: 1100

"Not again!" Astrid gasped.

"Watch out Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Stick with your jab!" Ragnar shouted.

Hiccup's and Tania's souls once again rushed at each other and exchanged blows, knocking one another away.

Hiccup: 3400

Tania: 1000

"All right, it's my move," said Hiccup as he drew. "I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang in attack mode!"

Hookfang's only appeared on the field swinging his massive mace. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1000)

"And now I'm going to have attack your Amazoness Swordswoman!" Hiccup roared as Hookfang charge at Swordswoman. "And every time he fights a monster he gains 400 additional attack points." Flames now covered Hookfang as he grew in strength. (ATK: 1600-2000)

"Not so fast, Hiccup!" Tania pressed a button on her disk, "I activate my facedown card, Amazoness Archers!"

Hiccup gulped as five women with bows and arrows appeared on the field, "Oh boy." He remembered that was the card that caused Speedfist to lose.

"If you don't remember what this does, this Trap card drains your monsters by 600 attack points… not too shabby for a girl, huh?"

Hiccup watched as Hookfang and Barf grew weaker. (ATK: 2000-1400) (ATK: 1200-600)

Amazoness Swordswoman countered Hookfang and destroyed him.

Hiccup: 3200

Tania: 1000

Hiccup winced at the attack, but kept his footing. He looked up at Tania, "Now, let's have ourselves Round Four!" he cried as he sacrificed points and his soul appeared once again.

Hiccup: 3100

Tania: 900

"What's he up to?" Astrid frowned.

"I don't know," said Ragnar.

They watched as the form of the two duellists rushed towards one another and punched each other silly before retreating back into their bodies.

Hiccup was looking to deal as much damage as he can whenever he can.

Hiccup: 3000

Tania: 800

"Not bad… you really duel with passion," Tania panted as they both rubbed their sore faces after the attacks.

Gobber raised an eyebrow, "What is she trying to prove?"

"I dunno, but I've never seen Hiccup duel with so much zeal before in my life!" Astrid shook her head, astounded.

Speedfist nodded, "Yes… he's enjoying himself in this duel while not being in love!"

"All right… now I'll have my Amazoness Archers force all your monsters to attack!"

"Not leaving me much choice, so Barf show how it's done," Hiccup commanded

Barf nodded and charged straight towards the Swordswoman, but he was powerless to wear and he was sliced across the belly.

Hiccup: 2400

Tania: 800

Hiccup winced again, "Well, that cost me some points… but hey, it's worth it to rumble!"

"Not again," Fishlegs moaned as the two souls of the duellists engaged each other in combat.

Hiccup: 2200

Tania: 600

"Next, I'll couple of facedown and end my turn!" Hiccup said quickly.

"My turn!" Tania drew her card. "And I activate Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two extra cards." She looked at the card she just drew and smirked. "Now I summon Amazoness Tiger in attack mode!" she paused as a tiger, much like Bass, appeared next to her Swordswoman, growling loudly, (ATK: 1100/DEF: 1500)

"This kitty gains 400 attack points for every monster on the field that has Amazoness in it's name," Tania reminded him, "She just loves company," (ATK: 1100-1900)

"Now that's one mean kitty!" said Tuffnut.

"Yeah, I want one," said Ruffnut.

Astrid frowned, "How about we try and not sound quite so impressed, shall we?" she hissed.

Heather smirked at her. "Is someone jealous?" She teased.

"Shut up," Astrid groaned, but she blushed nonetheless.

Tania then pulled out a card with a picture of Amazoness Swordswomen's soul blasting an enemy soldier. "And I activate Amazoness Blast and thanks to this you take damage equal to the number of star my Amazoness monster X 200!"

Suddenly the souls of both Swordswoman and Tiger appeared and slammed into Hiccup, bring him to his knees.

Hiccup: 1000

Tania: 600

"And now the second effect of my card activated increasing my life point equal to the damage you just took."

The sprits of both her monsters then surrounded her.

Hiccup: 1000

Tania: 1800

"Oh, man," said Fishlegs. "Now she has more life points."

"And she's not though yet," Ragnar added grimly.

"Now, Amazoness Swordswoman, attack Hiccup directly!" Tania ordered.

Her Swordswoman rushed at Hiccup, who had a smirk on his face.

"Did you forget my facedown card, because I'm activating it now Dragon Knight Reinforcements!" Hiccup declared as one of his facedowns revealed itself, "Now I look at the top card of my deck and if it's a monster I'm able to summon it!"

"All down to the luck of the draw, huh?" said Tania crossing her arms.

"I don't depend on luck," said Hiccup.

"With the right monster he may be able to survive this," said Wolflegs.

Hiccup drew the top card of his deck and looked at it and a small smile appeared on his face. "Come on out Dragon Knight Meatlug!"

Then the husky female night appeared on the field in a defence position. (ATK: 1300/ DEF: 2000)

Amazoness Swordswoman slammed her sword against Meatlug's armour and it shattered.

"I'm sorry," Tania smile, "but Swordswoman's special ability transfers all battle damage to you. So, you may wanna duck now."

Hiccup didn't even have enough time to blink as the broken blade dove through him, taking a chunk of Life Points away.

Hiccup: 500

Tania: 1800

"Guess it's time to put up my dukes," Hiccup groaned as the Arena activated again. Both souls appeared on the field again.

"Let's go!"

"Bring it!"

Hiccup: 400

Tania: 1800

For the umpteenth time, their souls appeared and fiercely clashed with one another, slugging one another hard in the face.

Hiccup: 400

Tania: 1700

"What's he doing?!" Ragnar asked, desperate for an answer.

"If this keeps up, Hiccup's gonna lose!" Fishlegs whimpered.

"Maybe not," Woflegs mused, "Maybe he's fallen under Tania's spell, just like Speedfist did."

Speedfist shook his head, "No, it's love! Pure love, just like the wind-driven snow! Right Tania?!"

The Amazon rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever lover-boy," she glared at Hiccup, "Let's get on with this! Amazoness Tiger, attack Meatlug!" she ordered.

The very large tiger roared and pounced Meatlug, it's claws and teeth scraping along Meatlug's thick. Sadly, the attack failed and Tania was hit with her own damage.

Hiccup: 400

Tania: 1600

"What the-?" Snotlout blinked in disbelief, "Why would Tania attack a monster with more defence points?"

"Simple…" Astrid leaned forward, "So she can use the Arena's effect for herself again."

Indeed, that is what Tania wanted, because the two souls flew into the air and punched hard, sort of like some kind of arch-enemies in some older anime series. After the blows, both duelists landed back in their bodies, a little weakened from the attacks.

Hiccup: 200

Tania: 1400

"He's still in there…" said Snotlout with a nod.

"For now," Wolflegs murmured.

"Now, I'll activate the Spell card called Amazoness Trainer to seal your fate!" Tania inserted her card into her disk, and her Tiger's power went up by 400 points. (ATK: 1900-2300)

"Since she played that Amazoness Trainer card, if her Tiger didn't destroy a monster before, it can try again, this time with a power boost," Woflegs explained to the questioning looks of his comrades.

Hiccup glared at Tania, "What's the hold up?!" he demanded.

"Oh, you know honey, just enjoying the moment," Tania shrugged slightly, "After all, this will be our anniversary. Amazoness Tiger, attack once more!" she barked.

"I activate Meatlug's special ability," said Hiccup the place a card in his Graveyard. "By discarding one card my hand to the graveyard I can negate her destruction."

"Won't do you any good, because my Arena will take the remainder of your life points," Tinai pointed out.

"I'm afraid not, because the car I discarded was my Dragon Knight Emblem and when this card sent to the graveyard I can look through my deck and pick out a monster with 'Dragon Knight' in its name." Hiccup began looking for his deck. "And I choose Dragon Knight Iggy and I can send him to the graveyard to regain 500 light points."

The moment he sent Iggy to the graveyard a young Dragon Knight appeared over his head. He looks similar to Sharpshot, but his armour was orange instead of green and Hiccu felt his life points restoring.

Hiccup: 700

Tania: 1700

Amazoness Tiger then bounced off Meatlug.

"Then let's rumble," said Tiana as the Arena activated again. Both souls appeared on the field again.

"With pleasure," said Hiccup.

Hiccup: 600

Tania: 1600

For tense moment their souls battled with one another each dealing a blow to the other.

Hiccup: 500

Tania: 1500

She grinned at Hiccup, "Playing hard to get, huh?" she panted, "I like that."

"Not really," Hiccup shot back. "I'm just trying to win and end this, despite this being an all-out duel."

Fishlehs looked at the two opponents, "Ya know… I gotta admit, I'm liking this duel too. It's non-stop action!"

"I think that's exactly what Hiccup's going for, Fishlegs," Wolflegs mused, "To beat her at her own game."

"I guess," Snotlout muttered, "unless he's trying to impress her. Maybe this Tania girl is Hiccup's type."

"Why don't you just shut it, Snotlout?" Astrid snapped, causing Snotlout to almost fall over in his seat. "There's no way Hiccup would date that thing, and in case you've forgotten, this is more than just love. If Hiccup doesn't get a miracle draw, Tania's gonna get another Spirit Gate Key! Not to mention Speedfist's gonna spend the rest of his life in some lame love limbo! There's a lot riding on Hiccup's shoulders this move."

"Sounds like someone is jealous," Ruffnut teased.

"What was that?" Astrid asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing…" Ruffnut said quickly.

"You've fought well, Hiccup," Tania praised, "But the only monster you all-out attack is my Tiger and even if you succeed in beating her you have to content with my Swordswoman. Remember her ability to make you suffer the damage you deal to her. Face it, you can't win."

"Actually I think I can," said Hiccup. "And I'll start by switching Meatlug into attack mode." Tania stared at him curiously as Meatlug got to her feet. "Now I activate my facedown card, Maces and Talons!"

Hiccup's facedown card revealed itself to be a track card with an image of some strange kind of board game on it.

"What will that do?" Tania asked.

"Hopefully win the game for me," said Hiccup as he began searching through his deck. "Firstly, I have to choose one monster, one spell and one track card from my deck then I placed them facedown on the field."

Hiccup places three chosen cards in his Spell in Trap Card Zone. "Now you have to choose one of these cards and depending on which type it is an effectual activate. If it's a Monster Card than the attack point of one monster on the field is increased by the attack point of the monster I placed facedown, but at the end of the turn the monsters owner takes damage equal to the original attack point of the card, if it's a Spell Card I have to skip my next turn, but if it's a Trap Card then you have to skip your turn."

"So it all comes down to a game of chance?" said Tania.

"I hope Hiccup knows what he's doing," said Ragnar.

"It all comes down to this," said Wolflegs.

Tania looked at the facedown cards on the field. "I choose the card from the left," she said pointing.

Hiccup press the button on his Duel Disk and slowly the card began to rise. Everyone was on the edge of their seats and then the card revealed itself to be Windshear.

"Looks like you chose a monster meaning Meatlug gains points equal to Windshear's attack points," said Hiccup.

Meatlug roared as a massive surge of energy entered into a body. (ATK: 1300-3200)

"All right, his move paid off," Ragnar cheered.

Astrid nodded slowly. "This is it! Meatlug can finish her off!"

"And I'm back down to earth," Speedfist chirped, startling some of the others nearby, "I can duel passionately, without being in love! Now, go get her Hiccup and win this match for us both!"

Meatlug charge straight towards Amazoness Tiger and then swung one of her massive fists right into her destroying her instantly.

Hiccup: 500 (Winner!)

Tania: 0

"It's over…" Speedfist sighed in relief.

"Never," Gobber slowly shook his head, "Have I seen two duellists fight with such passion."

"So tell us, Speedfist, how do you feel?" Wolflegs asked. "Like a man still in the throes of love? Or has this duel finally helped you rebound?"

"Still in love… but in love now, with duelling. I see where the passion lies once again."

Hiccup looked at his opponent, sighing in relief. "Glad that's over. Despite the circumstances, that was a fun duel. I wouldn't mind a rematch."

Tania sat down and shook her head, "No rematch. I joined the Shadow Riders to find a husband… a duellist who was worthy of being my husband. But I've discovered that I am not worthy of being with someone as strong as you."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at her as the Arena disappeared, "Tania?"

What happened next, may have freaked a few of them out. Tania began to glow with a purple light and soon, she fell onto all fours, her hair growing longer and white fur with black stripes grew out of her flesh. Soon, in her place, was a giant white tiger with two scars over its right eye.

"A tiger?!" Fishlegs stared in shock.

Speedfist rubbed his eyes, "Tania? Is that really you?"

The white tiger seemed to look straight at him, ' _Farewell Speedfist_ …'

Tania turned around and headed towards the exit with Bass, leaving behind her black gauntlet that Hiccup picked up.

"Well that's… that I suppose…" said Speedfist at a loss for words.

"You sure know how to pick 'em, Speedfist," said Snotlout, patting the Ra on the back.

"Hey, don't worry…" Hiccup assured the Ra. "There's other fish in the sea!"

"But not too many tigers… thank Thor," Speedfist added.

* * *

Dragon Knight Iggy

ATK: 500/ DEF: 400

2 stars

Earth

Warrior/ Effect

When this card is face up on the field or in the graveyard this card is treated as a Dragon-type. You can send this card to the Graveyard during your opponent's Battle Phase to regain 500 life points.

Maces and Talons

Trap Card

You can only activate this card if you have 1000 or less life points. Choose one Monster Card, one Spell Card and one Trap Card then place them facedown in your spell and trap card zone. Your opponent then chooses one card and depending what type of card one of these effects will activate: Monster: Increase the attack point of one monster on the field by the same amount on the card, but the owner that monster will take the original attack points as damage at the end of the turn. Spell: Skip your next turn. Trap: Your opponents gives their next turn or their turn ends if this card was activated during their turn.

Card image: Maces and Talons board game

Amazoness Blast

Spell Card

Your opponent takes damage equal to the total level of all Amazoness monsters you control x 200. Then your life point increase by the same number.

Card Image: Amazoness Swordswomen's soul blasting an enemy soldier


	38. Duel Under the Sea

It was a nice calm morning and Hiccup was having a peaceful walk with Astrid. It was nice having her around, but the problem was that he didn't know what to say.

"So, nice day," he said before mentally slapping himself.

"Yes, it is," said Astrid.

"So… uh, how's your brother?"

"Still out cold," she said sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm not giving help hope. I'm sure he'll be back to his old self in no time, though I don't know if that's a good thing?"

Hiccup frowned. "What do you mean?"

Astrid bit her lip. "Let's say my brother has an unusual personality."

Hiccup was almost afraid to ask what she meant by that, but decided against asking for more details.

"Ragnar and Heather seem to getting alone," he said.

"Yes, they are," said Astrid almost depressingly.

He frowned. "What's the matter?"

"It's just that Heather's so happy and I just wish I had someone like that."

Hiccup felt slightly depressed by that, and before either of them could speak they saw Ragnar rushing over to them.

"Ragnar?" Hiccup blinked.

Ragnar stopped in front of them panting. "You… you guys need to get to the docks fast."

"Why?" Hiccup and Astrid asked together.

Ragnar looked at them and then down towards the docks. "I'll be easier if I showed you."

Hiccup and Astrid looked at one another and both of them had the same thought. What could possibly be by the docks that it needs there attention.

* * *

They soon got there answer.

"Avast, ye landlubbers! I be the Admiral!"

A loud, high-pitched sound echoed around the docks of Duel Academy as a large, fat man dressed in sailor's garb and captain's hat stood on top of a huge submarine that sat peacefully in the waters. Everyone clutched their heads at the noise, hoping their eardrums didn't burst suddenly.

Hiccup winced as he held his head, "Who is he, a pirate or something?!" he yelled over the noise.

"Ye scalawags ne'er laid yer ears on tales of the Admiral?" The large man yelled into his microphone, "Scourge of the Seven Seas?!"

"Uh... yeah," Astrid rolled her eyes, "I'm thinkin' he's a pirate."

"But with a submarine?" Snotlout wondered. "If he is one, then this is definitely the first time I've seen this…"

"Or if he's just plain crazy…" Heather added.

"There's that…" Snotlout agreed.

"I'm here to challenge one of ye to a duel—!" Everyone cried out again as the high-pitched tone ripped through the air. "—the bilge rat known as Hiccup Haddock!"

Speedfist and Astrid looked up at the man in surprise, "Is he—?"

"A Shadow Rider!" Hiccup growled, glaring at the fat pirate.

"Show yerself, Hiccup!" the Admiral barked, "Where ye be?"

"I be right here!" Hiccup stepped forward, "And aren't you a little old to be playin' dress-up?"

The Admiral glared at him, "Why, I'll keelhaul ya poopdeck!" he shouted, "Now at arms, ya scurvy dog, it time we be duelling!" he pointed to Hiccup, grinning.

"Now?"

"No, next week," Speedfist muttered sarcastically.

"I'm kinda in the middle of something right now…"

"This should be good," Snotlout cracked.

"Let's go! Get aboard!" the Admiral cried, "If not, I be tyin' yer mates to the port for Hela!"

Hiccup grit his teeth and started to walk to a small boat that lay in the water nearby.

"Hiccup, wait!" Astrid called after him, "If this is a Shadow Rider, there's no way we'll let you go all alone! I'm coming with you"

Hiccup stopped in his tracks, "I dunno… think about it," he turned and looked at them, "In all of these duels recently, someone ends up in danger somehow," Hiccup reminded.

Alexis smiled slightly, "Hiccup, we're in this together."

"Right!" Speedfist walked up beside her, "I'm with you too!"

Snotlout grinned, "I just wish I had a parrot… or at least an eyepatch, but at least you've got the peg leg."

"Not funny, Snotlout, but I'm coming too," said Heather.

"As I," said Ragnar.

"I guess that settles it," said Astrid.

Hiccup frowned. "Well…"

They then cover their ears after the ear-splitting sound of the microphone the Admiral 's was holding.

"I'll scuttle the likes of ye, if ye don't come aboard!"

With that, Hiccup, his fellow Key-Keepers, boarded the small boat and sped towards the large submarine, where a large crane apparatus took hold of the boat and lifted them out of the water.

Speedfist looked at the device as they touched the roof of the sub, only to descend through another entrance while the Admiral slowly sank into his own entrance.

"Seems too high-tech for a pirate," he mused, "I think the Admiral is less buccaneer and more financier."

* * *

The gang entered a large control room that was filled with TV monitors that showed a large duel arena, and that was apparently on board.

"How else can he afford a submarine, or a submerged Duel Arena?" Speedfsit glanced at the Admiral.

"Give a whole new definition to 'shiver my timbers'…" said Hiccup with his eyes widened.

"Aye, tis be a fine ship," the Admiral said proudly, turning to the group, "Now let's weigh anchor and duel ya filthy bilge rat!"

Hiccup and the Admiral stood in the sub's duel arena, duel disks at the ready. This was the strangest place he had ever seen a duel arena so far. A platform for walking and duellists went around the side of the room, but below them, they both could see the ocean's depths as clear as day.

"Wish yer mates farewell, ye ain't be seein' them again!" the Admiral laughed as he inserted his deck into a beautiful, custom duel disk. The disk had dozens of incredible looking gems and gold lacings around the edges. Needless to say, it looked like a treasure from the old world.

"Duel!"

Hiccup: 4000

Admiral: 4000

Hiccup drew his card, "I summon the Dragon Knight Fanghook in defence mode!"

The young knight appeared on the field, bulging arms folded across its chest. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 800)

At that moment, everything in the room went very dark.

Hiccup growled, "I shoulda guessed you'd turn off all the lights… it is a Shadow Game!"

"A Shadow Game?" the Admiral blinked, looking confused.

"What's it for?" Hiccup barked, "My soul? My Key?"

"What ye be speaking, ya yella-livered-linny swabby?!"

"You know what I mean! What's your Shadow sham gonna be?!" Hiccup demanded, "Are you gonna turn me into a doll? Or maybe suck me into some magic card?"

The Admiral scratched his head, looking very lost, "What ye be squawkin'?" he asked.

"The Shadow Game, remember?!"

"Tis no Shadow Game!"

"But what about my Key?"

"Key? What key?"

"The Key that—" Hiccup stopped and the two duellists stared at each other for a few moments, "Hold on a second. You are trying to unlock the Spirit Gates, right? Aren't you?"

"Why you scurvy swine!" the Admiral glared daggers at him, "I be no Shadow Rider, and I'll prove it!"

What happened next, tossed most everyone else on the ship off their feet and onto the floor. The submarine rose from the murky depths of the ocean and broke surface, and now it sat peacefully on the water's surface.

Snotlout groaned, "I think… I'm gonna be sick."

Astrid and Heather were up against the wall. "That wasn't fun…" Heather noted.

"I'm okay," Astrid added and held her head, "Looks like the Admiral wasn't lying. This guy really knows his sailing… so I guess he's not really a Shadow Rider."

"Well, he didn't had to go over the top to prove it," Ragnar groaned.

Speedfist frowned and pointed to the monitors, showing the darkened arena, "Hold on. If he's not a Shadow Rider, how did he manage to shroud the entire arena in darkness?" he demanded, "Could one of you care to explain that?"

At that moment, a sailor hopped onto the control deck and pressed the intercom button as the light in the arena turned back on, "Sir, we fixed the electrical problems in the duel arena, it should be ok now," he reported.

Hiccup's friends all fell over at the news.

"See, me mate? I be no Shadow Rider, I be an Ocean Rider!"

"All right, shall we carry on with our duel then?" Hiccup asked.

"Indeed, let's duel!" the fat sailor drew his card. Then his end tray opened up, "Now, prepare to taste the briney deep with this: A Legendary Ocean!" his disk glowed a blue aura after placing a card into the end tray.

The area surrounding them turned into a beautiful, underwater realm fill with large stone ruins.

Hiccup looked around the area. "Not bad looking…"

"He's right," Astrid nodded as she too looked at the new field.

"Will ye think it be a grand laugh… when me sea monsters rip ye from limb to limb?" the Admiral chuckled as he took a card from his hand.

"Of course!" Speedfist leaned forward, "The Legendary Ocean card! It reduces the summoning level of all Water-Attribute monsters!"

"Your mate be right, boy," the Admiral nodded, "That means I can play Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness without a sacrifice, and I be doin' just that!" he declared, slapping the card onto his disk.

Hiccup watched as a huge killer whale with mechanical features on its back, large cannon in its mouth appeared, wailing. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1200)

"Also, in case ye be forgetting, me sea monsters also get an extra bounty of 200 points in both attack and defence!" (ATK: 2100-2300/DEF: 1200-1400)

"Now, Orca Mega Fortress, scuttle that Fanghook!" he pointed to the Knight, "That means 'attack', you swab!"

Orca Mega Fortress took a deep breath, and then shot a huge fireball from the cannon in its mouth at Fanghook, blowing the Hero out of the water.

"I be expectin' more of ye, Hiccup…"

Hiccup looked through the aftermath of the blast, "Huh?"

"It be true. I know who ye be! Yer deck, yer victories…" the Admiral took a card from his hand, "Oh yes, I've studied ye like a map. A map with a handsome treasure, which is why I came to find ye!" he slipped the card into his disk, "Oh, and I place one card facedown…"

"Why've you been spying on me?" Hiccup asked as he drew. "I summon Dragon Knight Bing in defence mode." Then suddenly appearing on the field was a young Knight wearing thick green armour and then took up a kneeling position. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 300) "And I'll follow that up with a facedown!" The electric themed hero appeared kneeling. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)

The fat sailor smiled, "Well lad, listen. The Admiral be building a new Duel Academy at the bottom of the briney deep! Well, waddya think?"

"Uh… huh?"

"But, me still needs a first mate. A mate that'd be grand… A mate like…" he pointed at Hiccup, "Ye! And you'll help me run it, ye swab!"

"What?" Hiccup blinked.

"Not Hiccup!" Astrid protested, "He can't leave us!"

"Why not?" Speedfist mused, "It is an amazing opportunity…"

Snotlout just crossed his arms. "Good, maybe now I'll get a new room."

."Shut up Snotlout!" Heather glared. "Hiccup's not gonna leave us! He can't! He won't!"

"And we still need to protect those Sacred Beast Cards!" Ragnar added, "Hiccup can't leave!"

"Hiccup, ye be the finest duelist in the Seven Seas! I want ye to teach with me! Ye'd be great!"

"Yeah, and then I'll probably sprout some wings and fly…" Hiccup said sarcastically.

"Then yer in!" the Admiral declared, "Welcome aboard!"

Hiccup stared at him in shock, "Okay, clearly you don't get sarcasm."

"Were ye?" the Admiral raised an eyebrow, "Then what say ye to a friendly wager, between mates?"

"Don't do it, Hiccup!" Astrid protested.

"It's a trap!" Speedfist cried.

"Who cares?" Snotlout muttered.

"He won't do it!" said Heather.

"Hiccup's no fool," said Ragnar.

"Forget it!" Hiccup glared. "I quit!"

"I ain't be askin' ye, I be tellin' ye! The duel has begun, and the wage has been set," the Admiral shrugged, "If ye win, I be lettin' ye and ye mates go free. But if not, ye leave Duel Academy and join me!"

Hiccup growled. "I'm really not in the mood for your games, so I'm gonna make this quick!"

"It be my turn now," the Admiral drew his card, "And, I play me facedown card… a Trap card known as Cursed Waters Level 3!"

Hiccup looked at the card, "Weird name… but what's it do?"

"It be lettin' me summon monsters from the deep, whose Level totals 3!" the sailor took two cards from his hand and placed them on his disk, "I be summonin' Torpedo Fish and Cannonball Spear Shellfish!"

Hiccup watched as two monsters came onto the field. The first was fish shaped torpedo aiming itself at Hiccup. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000) And the second was a mollusk inside a steel drill. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)

"Brilliant!" Speedfist nodded, "Normally, those two monsters combined levels would equal 5, but with A Legendary Ocean card in play, their normal levels are downgraded by 1, so they're combined Levels are now 3… clever."

"Yeah, guess this Admiral isn't that bad…" Heather begrudgingly admitted.

"And what worse is his Orca's special ability," said Ragnar grimly.

"He'd be right, you see by sending one of my beasts to the great deep, I can scuttle your facedown!"

Hiccup watched as the Cannonball Spear Shellfish appeared above the Orca and shot through the holo-water like a bullet, crashing into his facedown Dragon Guard card, destroying it easily.

"Now, I be bidding adieu to me Torpedo Fish to make your green fellow walk the mutinous plank!"

Much like the Spear Shellfish, Torpedo Fish swam fast and hard into Bing, blowing him to pieces, leaving Hiccup wide open.

"Now you'd be wide open matey."

"Not quite, because when Bing is destroyed I can summon Dragon Knight Bam for my deck to the field," said Hiccup as a young knight wearing armour much like Bing only blue appeared on his field in a defence position. (ATK: 200/ DEF: 200)

The Admiral snarled, "Fine, then me Orca will attack him!"

The huge killer whale fired off another huge blast of fiery energy that struck Bam destroying him completely.

"And Bam has an ability when he is destroyed, I get a summon Dragon Knight Boom to the field!" Hiccup smirked as another a young knight wearing armour much like Bing and Bam appeared on the field in a defence position. (ATK: 100/ DEF: 100)

"You'd can't hide forever matey," The Admiral grumbled.

"I don't plan to," Hiccup said as he drew his card. "Because I now play Polymerization, in order to fuse Dragon Knights Barf and Belch in order to form Dragon Knight Twin Swordsman!"

The Admiral raised an eyebrow at the new, fusion Knight, clearly unimpressed, (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800)

"Is that the best ye can do? Even if that green and black-belled gizzard keelhauled me Orca, me only take 100 points of damage!"

Hiccup smirked, "You missed the boat, Admiral. Allow me to explain. Once per turn, he can attack twice in one move!"

"How that be?!"

"I read the card," Hiccup said. "Now, Twin Swordsman, Twin Dragon Sword Slash!"

Twin Swordsman charged straight towards the Orca, sending a powerful slash right though it. The giant whale moaned before blowing apart, knocking the Admiral off his feet.

Hiccup: 4000

Admiral: 3900

"Well, that's why they're endangered," Speedfist shrugged.

"And now Twin Swordsman attacks you directly!" Hiccup pointed to the Admiral.

The Admiral climbed to his feet, only to be hit with a huge massive sword. "Shiver me timbers!" he cried before falling over on his side, smoking a little.

Hiccup: 4000

Admiral: 1500

The Admiral looked at Hiccup, smiling slightly, "Perchance a deal, me boy?" he flipped over, surprisingly, onto his feet, "We maroon this duel here and now, and you come work for me for a thousand doubloons!"

"How much?" Snotlout blinked, amazed.

"Amazing! That's over a million dollars!" Speedfist added.

"That is a lot of booty…" Astrid thought aloud.

"I beg your pardon?" Speedfist asked.

"Money, Speedfist…" Heather added.

"That's a lot of cash," Ragnar whistled.

"Ahoy, waddya say, Hiccup?" the Admiral rubbed his hands together, "Do ye wanna be rich?"

"Nope!" Hiccup firmly answered.

Everyone in the control room smiled at his answer, except for Snotlout, who just stared at him in bewilderment.

"He seriously passing up the chance to become rich?" he stared in shock.

"That's Hiccup for you," Ragnar smiled.

"Don't ya get it? I don't care about the money," Hiccup explained.

The Admiral raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure I can persuade you."

"Read my lips, I don't want your money and I'm not leaving to be a teacher in your underwater Duel Academy!"

Admiral wasn't fazed by Hiccup's threats. "Mull it over whilst we duel, but remember, ye'd be mine either way!" the Admiral drew his card, "Now, me play this, A Shallow Grave! Here's how this card works: we search our Graveyards and find a beast we want, then we summon it in defense mode," the Admiral reached down and plucked a card that popped out, "I think I be choosin' the terror of the Seven Seas, the Orca-Mega Fortress of Darkness!"

Once again, this time in defence mode, the huge killer whale appeared on the field, again boosted thanks to the Legendary Ocean card. (ATK: 2100-2300/DEF: 1200-1400)

Hiccup glared as he picked his monster. "I'll pick my Barf!" The mischievousness knight appeared on the field in defence. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1000)

"But, before yer Twin Swordsman makes quick work of me Orca, I be tellin' ye he's only a sacrifice!" the Admiral smiled, "So hold onto yer britches, for there be another monster…"

"Uh oh."

"…and he be called Levia-Dragon - Daedalus!"

A huge sea serpent with blue scales, red spikes on its body, and a gaping jaw of spiked teeth emerged from the watery depths with an almighty roar as the Field card gave it more strength. (ATK: 2600-2800/DEF: 1500-1700)

"Ye best be wary of his special ability," the Admiral warned as he took out the Field card from his tray and sent it to the Graveyard slot, "By sending me Legendary Ocean to the Graveyard, the whole lot of cards in this field of war, meets a dastardly end!"

The field spell disappeared and lowered the sea serpent's strength. (ATK: 2800-2600/DEF: 1700-1500)

"Don't forget I've got more life points," Hiccup reminded.

"That doesn't matter, for yer cards are goin' the way of Hel!" the Admiral cried as his Levia-Dragon blasted the entire field, completely obliterating Hiccup's defense, leaving him completely exposed.

"Ramparts be down! Fire all forward battery!" he ordered, pointing to Hiccup, "…in other words, ATTACK!"

Again, the Levia-Dragon roared and fired another beam of blue energy at Hiccup, taking a huge chunk of Life Points out of him.

Hiccup: 1400

Admiral: 1500

"There he goes!" the Admiral laughed as Hiccup fell to his knees, "He be mine, now! Ya'rr finished, tis nothing ye can do to stop me monster!"

Hiccup rose to his feet, glancing at the beast, "I beg to differ. I still got one draw left… mate," he muttered as he looked at his deck. ' _All or nothing_.' Hiccup then drew his card. "Here we go."

Hiccup looked at it and smirked.

Astrid smiled. "You guys see that smirk? I know it means Hiccup has something planned!"

"Oh you know it!" Ragnar nodded.

"Now since I have Dragon Knight's Bing, Bam and Boom in my graveyard I can summon Dragon Knight Thornado from my hand," said Hiccup slamming a card on his Duel Disk.

Suddenly there was a huge gush of water shooting out of the field and when it dispelled their stillness tall muscular man in blue dragon-like armour. Though there was a slight difference and that he had some sort of metal clamp over his mouth. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1800)

Admiral laughed. "Ye be a good effort, but not ye good enough me afraid!"

"Oh, I'm not quite finished," said Hiccup. "Because now I summon Dragon Knight Touch to the field in attack mode!"

Then appearing in a bust of flames was young blazing knight. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1300)

Admiral was slightly confused by this move. "You'd make a foolish move matey. Neither of ya Knight tis strong enough to take down me Levia-Dragon."

"I wouldn't be too sure that," said Hiccup and everyone stared at him. "Now Thornado attack is Levia-Dragon with Sonic Blast!"

The metal clap on Thornado's mouth opened and he sent a powerful sonic attack straight at Levia-Dragon. It was so loud that everyone that everyone had to cover their ears, except for Hiccup who just stood there as if nothing happened.

"Why'd ya do that?" the Admiral yelled over the noise, "me Sea Monster has more points that you're scurvy knight."

"My _scurvy knight_ has quite the special ability," said Hiccup as he pulled out Bing from his Graveyard, "firstly, by either removing a Bing, Bam or Boom for my graveyard I can reduce all battle damage to 0 and Thornado gets the stick around. Secondly, after damage is dealt your Dragon is destroyed."

Admiral stared in horror and looked up at his Dragon just in time to see it being blown up.

"And Admiral you haven't forgotten about Torch, have you?"

Admiral stared in horror as he realises field was wide open and Touch had enough points to win the match.

"Touch, shiver his timbers! Typhoon Boomerang!" Hiccup ordered.

Torch began to spin furiously as flames covered him from head to toe and he soared straight towards the Admiral and he yelled in pain as the flames covered him which was followed by an explosion and he found himself at Hiccup's feet.

Hiccup: 1400 (Winner)

Admiral: 0

"I guess I'll be going," said Hiccup.

' _Argh… I might've been bested in this duel, but tharr be another way to catch this wily fish, Hiccup!_ ' The Admiral thought with a smirk as he regained his composure.

* * *

When Hiccup reached the control room he found that his friends were gone and he stared up at the Admiral, who just explained the situation.

"What do you mean they are left?" he said bewildered.

"They took the first and only dinghy home," said Admiral.

"So, I'm stuck?"

"Aye, I fear it be true."

Hiccup has a hard time believing his friends would abandon him. "But—"

"Just look for yourself," said Admiral pointing to one of the screens which showed his friends sailing away on the boat that brought them here. "Hi def video tell no tall tales."

Hiccup just stared at it in shock and then looked back at the Admiral. "Very convenient."

"Aye, you now begin your new life under the sea, Hiccup," said Admiral as the submarine submerged. "Ship to the wind, we'd be making way to me first mates new home."

* * *

A week later on Duel Academy, as it was looking out towards the sea from the docks. Ragnar and Heather were watching her from behind the lighthouse.

"She's taken a pretty hard," said Ragnar looking at her with sympathy, "it's been a whole week since Hiccup left."

"I still find it hard to believe that Hiccup wanted to stay with the Admiral," Heather admitted.

"Hiccup I knew wouldn't do this to his friends for money," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

Astrid then stood up. "Do you guys hear that?"

Ragnar and Heather looked up and I could definitely hear the sound of an engine coming straight towards them.

"Guys!" a voice yelled.

"Hiccup!" said Astrid with tears of joy running down her cheek.

Then they saw emerging into the bay was a boat and Hiccup was driving it. Smoke was pouring out from the boat and Hiccup was covered in oil and grime.

"I escaped!" Hiccup yelled from the boat as he drove towards the port. "He trapped me, but I managed to get myself out of there!"

"We should have known," said Ragnar. "I can't believe I fell for that."

"What's it matter? Hiccup's back and Astrid seems to be quite happy about it," Heather smiled.

Ragnar can help but agree with her as they ran down towards the port to meet up with Hiccup. Once Hiccup jumped out of the boat he was soon tackled by Astrid in a massive hug.

"Uh…" was all he could say.

Astrid soon realised she was making a scene and pulled away from him. They looked at one another both their faces blushing.

"I'm glad you're back," she said slightly embarrassed.

"It's great to be back," said Hiccup equally embarrassed.

Ragnar and Heather looked at one another and rolled their eyes. When were the two of them going to admit their feelings to one another?

* * *

Dragon Knight Bing

ATK: 300/ DEF: 300

3 stars

WATER

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. When this card is destroyed a result of battle and send the Graveyard, you can special summon warn "Dragon Knight Bam" from your hand or deck.

Dragon Knight Bam

ATK: 200/ DEF: 200

2 stars

WATER

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. When this card is destroyed a result of battle and send the Graveyard, you can special summon warn "Dragon Knight Boom" from your hand or deck.

Dragon Knight Boom

ATK: 100/ DEF: 100

1 stars

WATER

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard.

Dragon Knight Thornado

ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1800

5 stars

WATER

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon type while face up on the field or in the Graveyard. This card cannot be normal summon or set, this card can only be special summoned when Dragon Knights Bing, Bam and Boom are in your graveyard. Destroy an opponent's monster that battles this card at the end of the Damage Step. You can prevent this card's destruction and reduce all battle damage to 0 that involves this card by removing from play either Dragon Knight Bing, Bam or Boom from your graveyard.


	39. The Dark Scorpions

Somewhere in a dark cave on Duel Academy Island, a group of people sat around a dimly lit candle, enjoying the low lighting as they waited for the right time.

"We've been waiting for this day a long time," one, a male with a large hammer said aloud, "Now it's here…"

"I know, it's hard to believe the Boss is actually comin'," a large male said as he polished a giant, spiked mace.

The one woman of the group held up her thorny whip, "Of course he's coming. Finally, all the places are in place."

"They will be once we enact the plan anyway," the final member, a man with large daggers chuckled, his blades glistening in the candlelight.

The four people rose from the seats and brought their respective weapons together, "There's no stopping the Dark Scorpions now!" they said in unison.

* * *

Early one morning, a ferry boat sped towards the Academy, the only people on it was its captain and a man in a brown trench coat.

The captain looked out his window, "Land ho, detective!" he called out to the man on the deck, "That's Academy Island up ahead!"

Looking out at the island, the detective in the heavy coat squinted a bit.

"Time to go to work."

* * *

Astrid and Heather stood in the hallway, watching Agnar stand at a window, looking out at the scenery.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

The blonde turned to see Hiccup, Ragnar, Snotlout and Gobber, and a man in a trench coat and a hat walk up to them. The man had light silvery blue hair and his right eye was obscured by his Sherlock Holmes style hat.

"Nothing much…" Heather replied. "Just watching over Atticus ever since he got out of the infirmary."

"How is he?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid shrugged and turned back to her brother. "So-so… I mean, he can walk around campus; but he still can't remember much about what happened."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll come around soon, Astrid," Hiccup assured her. "You just gotta have faith."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. Anyway," she looked at the others. "What brings you all here, anyway?"

"The law, actually," Gobber waved his hand to the man in the dark trench coat.

The man lifted his hat, showing off a head of light blue hair, and a golden eye-patch on his right eye, "Good afternoon ladies," he greeted. "I'm Detective Zaloog."

Astrid blinked a few times, as if she were missing something, "Okay…"

"What's going on?" Heather added.

"You see girls, since three of the nine Spirit Keys have already been taken by the Shadow Riders, and the fate of the world rests on protecting the other six, the Academy thought it'd be best to call in the police," Banner explained as Detective Zaloog put his hat back on.

Hiccup and Ragnar turned to the girls.

"By the way, where are your keys?" Hiccup asked them.

"It's around our necks…" Heather replied.

Snotlout began fishing out the key in his coat. "I have mine in my pocket."

"I've got mine right here," said Ragnar pulling out his own key from his blazer pocket.

Hiccup held up his, "Same with me."

"And I have mine wrapped around my hand." Gobber finished.

"Oh my, that's exactly what I was afraid of," Zaloog shook his head, "You think that's where it's safest, but it's not. You see, all the Shadow Duelists have to do is find you and they find the keys," he reasoned.

"So, the detective suggests that we all hide the keys somewhere," Gobber explained to them.

Hiccup looked at his key and shrugged, "Whatever's safer, I guess."

As everyone was planning to hide the keys, Snotlout had a suspicion…

* * *

"Nobody'd think to look here."

Snotlout hopped over a small couch in his dorm room and placed his key into a cupboard under his sink as the others watched him.

Detective Zaloog nodded, "Yes, very good, Snotlout. Just be sure that you keep it a secret," he advised.

A loud noise from outside made everyone look towards the open door. Outside, was a huge, burly man wearing a staff uniform and cap. A large, stitched, scar ran along the top of his face, down his right eye and to his jaw. He stopped his current paint job and turned to the others, looking uncomfortable.

"Who is that?" Zaloog asked, nodding to the large man.

Hiccup smiled, "Oh, him? That's just Gorg. He's the janitor."

* * *

"There we go, the junk drawer," Hiccup dropped his and Ragnar's keys into a drawer filled with knick knacks and small toys.

Zaloog nodded, "Good idea. No one would ever find it in all that clutter," he agreed.

A slight rustling sound coming from the doorway made Hiccup run over and yank the door open.

"Who's there?!" he snapped.

On the other side of the doorway, a short boy with spiky blond hair in a Slifer Red jacket jumped back, looking very startled at Hiccup's outburst.

"Oh… it's you, sorry man."

Zaloog frowned, "So… who is it?" he demanded.

"Hey, C.K.!"

Hiccup and the blonde boy turned to see Fishlegs walking up to them.

"You lost again?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup nodded and pointed to the room nearby. "Your room's next door, remember?"

C.K. looked at the next room, and rubbed the back of his sheepishly. "Oh yeah… sorry, guys," he waved at them and walked off.

Fishlegs turned to the group, "He's a new transfer student," he explained, "He's kinda on the slow side. I love duelin' him…"

* * *

Astrid opened up a small jewellery box after leading the group to her room. She took off her key and placed it inside. "This where I keep all my other valuables…"

Detective Zaloog nodded. "Good work, Astrid."

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

Everyone turned to see an attractive woman in a white coat, with brown hair going down her back, and a clipboard in her arms.

"I didn't mean to disturb you all," she apologized, "I just thought I'd come ask Astrid how her brother is doing…"

Zaloog sat up, pointing to the woman, "Now, who is this?"

Astrid smiled and waved him off, "It's cool, Detective… she's the school nurse. No one to worry about."

"Hey Astrid, you don't mind me putting my Key in with yours?" Astrid asked. "I don't have anything to hide it in my room."

"Sure," Astrid said.

"I got it," Snotlout held out his hand and Heather handed the key to him and set it in the jewellery box.

* * *

"Your Spirit Key will surely be safe there, Professor."

Snotlout was in his office with the gang there, placing his key into a safe along with a bunch of his other stuff.

"Gee Fishlegs, what gave you that idea? The fact that its a safe?" Snotlout asked sarcastically to the larger Slifer.

"But still, that is a good place to hide the key, despite the slight obviousness," Hiccup mused.

Detective Zaloog was about to say something when he noticed someone go by the door. He turned to see a man with short brown hair, wearing a dark blue uniform walk by the door.

"Wait, who's that over there?"

Gobber glanced at the man passing by and smiled. "Oh, that's just Cliff, the security guard. If anything, he'll make the Key more safe." He then looked at everyone. "Well… I think we should turn in. I believe we'll have a good night's sleep tonight knowing the keys are safe and sound."

Zaloog nodded. "Yes, very soundly. Now, children," he turned to the Key-Keepers and their friends, "Off to bed. You all must be exhausted…"

* * *

That night, as Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs slept, crumbs of plaster and wood fell from the ceiling above them. A hole was made by a large drill bit, which poked through the hole that was just above the desk where the junk drawer was, taking his and Hiccup's keys with it.

* * *

As Astrid slept peacefully alone in her Obelisk Blue dorm, a vent grate in her ceiling opened up and a thorny whip shot out of it, wrapping itself around her jewellery box containing hers and Heather's keys before being pulled back up into the vent.

* * *

In Gobber's room, someone crept in and hovered over the safe. The intruder positioned the light ion he had on the lock's number dials. His hand reached down and began to quickly go from up and down.

* * *

As soon as every Key was gathered, the thieves gathered around the locks of the Spirit Gates. The three Keys won before them were in their slots, which were lit up, while the other keys were in their own slots, not lit at all.

"And, it is done. All the Spirit Keys are ours!"

"Then why aren't the gates opening?"

"Yeah, that's the only way we can get those Sacred Beast cards!"

"We must have to do something else…"

"Yes, and I bet those children know what. So much for doing this the nice way."

* * *

Snotlout was spending a nice sleep until a light shined into his eye. Groaning, he opened up his eye to find that Hiccup and Ragnar had come into his room, arms waving around wildly. They looked like they were saying something but he couldn't hear a word. Scowling, Snotlout sat up and pulled out his ear-plugs.

"Hey, morons? See these little things in my ears?" he held up his ear plugs.

"We know there your earplugs," said Ragnar. "And that's exactly the problem."

"You're Key, Snotlout! It's vanished!" Hiccup cried, pointing to Snotlout's door, which was demolished, "Look!"

Snotlout stared at the door, then at his open cupboard, "What in the-no! It can't be!" he glared at Hiccup, "How?!"

"Those things in your ears?" Hiccup pointed to the ear plugs, "They also keep you from hearing your door being kicked in!" He glanced at the open door. "That means that they are back!"

Snotlout nodded.

"The Shadow Riders…"

* * *

After rounding up the others, the entire group sat in Snotlout's rather cramped dorm room.

He looked at the others. "So, all of your Keys are gone, too?" he asked.

Gobber nodded, "It appears so…"

"Yeah, and you are the only one that had their door kicked down," said Hiccup.

"Shut up," Snotlout glared.

"Don't worry, boys and girls, we'll get to the bottom of this."

Everyone turned to see Zaloog standing in the doorway, with Gorg, the school nurse, Cliff the security guard, and C.K. standing behind him.

Hiccup rose to his feet. "Detective Zaloog, what's going on?" he asked.

The detective smiled, "I rounded up some suspects, so that we can solve this very serious crime."

"Are you going to question them, then?" Heather asked.

Zaloog nodded. "In due time, but first let me ask you all some questions, to help my investigation."

Hiccup shrugged, "All right. Sounds good," he nodded at his friends, "after all, he is the detective."

"Wrong," Snotlout said.

Everyone looked at him curiously.

Snotlout folded his arms. "Something's up…"

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.

"Snotlout, let him do his job," Gobber said.

"Sorry, but this is a job for… Snotlout Jorgenson!" He said. "Now, everyone who knew where those Keys were, are in this room right now." He glanced at the detective and the other four people. "So that means that the thief has to be, too."

"How will we find him, then?" Hiccup asked.

"We need evidence, Snotlout," Heather pointed out. "We can't just point fingers at people," she reminded. "So I hope you have something to go on."

Astrid nodded, "Well, now that you mention it. I did find a press-on fingernail on my bedroom floor."

The school nurse flinched, her eyes wide, ' _Uh oh…_ ' she glanced at her fingers, to see a nail was missing.

"A press-on nail… interesting," Snotlout said quietly, "A very promising clue, Astrid. Where is the fingernail now?"

Astrid let out a nervous chuckle, "I… uh… kinda threw it away."

"In the garbage? Great, there goes that lead."

Gobber leaned forward, "I got one! I found a set of footprints that led right up to where my safe was," he offered.

Cliff flinched, glancing at his muddy boots on the floor nearby.

"That's perfect, Professor!" Snotlout looked at teacher. "What size shoe were they? What was the style of the shoe?"

Gobber scratched his head slowly. "I uh… vacuumed it up," he confessed.

"You know," Hiccup turned to Ragnar, "There was a hole in our room…"

Ragnar nodded. "Yeah, shame we sealed it up."

C.K. looked around, hiding a hand-turn drill behind the couch, looking from side to side.

"Well, looks like we cleaned up the criminal's tracks…" Heather mused. "There goes that…"

Snotlout rose from his seat. "I know who did it!" He pointed to Cliff, "Him!" he then pointed to C.K., "And him! And him, and her!" Snotlout pointed to Gorg and the school nurse.

"Just what are you basing this on?!" C.K. snapped at them.

The nurse nodded. "Yeah! Like your friend said, you don't have any proof! You can't pin this on any of us!"

Snotlout chuckled and smirked confidently, "Oh, don't I?"

Detective Zaloog frowned. "Look, how about I ask the questions?" he offered.

"How's about we hear from them?" Snotlout whipped out his Ojama cards.

"You see, when we hid each of the Spirit Keys, I hid one of these cards with them!" Snotlout explained. "The five of them are sorta my eyes and ears when I'm not around…" Snotlout then took out his deck. "While in my dorm room, these guys saw who did it too!"

"Caught you red-handed!" Ojama Black cried, floating in front of Snotlout.

"Certainly did!" Ojama Green agreed, joining in.

"Busted!" Ojama Yellow shouted.

"Arrest them!" Ojama Red yelled.

"Hold them down so they don't run!" Ojama Blue finished.

"Who told you what?" Zaloog asked.

"Really?" the nurse looked around, "I'm lost…"

"Where are these so-called 'witnesses'?" Gorg, C.K., and Cliff asked together, looking around the room.

"You do realise that only you and me can see duel monster spirits, right?" said Hiccup.

Snotlout glared at him. "Well, maybe you can't see them… But I can! And I know that they're behind this detective!"

Zaloog looked at the boy and chuckled. "I'm afraid you're mistaken… it's not just them. It's me, too."

"What?!" Everyone looked at him in shock.

"That's right, my children," Zaloog looked away, "We're all in on it. For we are the criminal ring known as…"

Every single one of the five people threw of their clothes and everyone saw that they wore almost identical outfits. Brown, tight tank tops and tight red pants with brown patches. On every single one of their shoulders, the five people had a tattoo of a black scorpion.

"The Dark Scorpions!" they declared, posing together, arms pointed in different directions.

Gorg had his hands pointing to himself, C.K. had his hands pointing upward, Zaloog had his downward, while both the nurse and Cliff were pointing down towards the side.

"Never heard of you," the other occupants said together.

Zaloog smiled. "Of course, you haven't heard of us. We've been deep undercover at your school for years now, waiting for our chance to nab those Keys."

"And now, the Dark Scorpions finally have them all!" the others cried out in unison.

Snotlout smirked. "So what? To use them, you still gotta beat me in a duel. Bring it on!"

Hiccup looked at him. "I'll do it," he offered.

"I'll take them on," Astrid threw in.

"You can count me in," said Ragnar.

"Me as well," said Heather.

"I wouldn't mind jumping in," said Gobber.

Zaloog grabbed a nearby duel disk, looking at it closely. "Of course, that's it! Why the Keys didn't work!" he donned the duel disk and stood up, followed by his companions. "We have to beat them in a duel!"

"That's right!" Snotlout stood up, his own disk and deck at the ready. "So, let's go, Shadow Rider!"

* * *

Everyone stepped out of the crowded dorm room and walked outside. Snotlout stood alone while his friends and teacher stood behind him, a safe distance away. Zaloog had his own cronies behind him as well.

"DUEL!" They shouted.

Snotlout: 4000

Zaloog: 4000

"I'll win this as easy as I stole your Keys!" Zaloog drew his card. "First, I'll summon Golem Sentry in defence mode!"

He paused as a large rounded slab of stone appeared, carrying a spear appeared. (ATK: 800/DEF: 1800)

"Next, I'll lay this card facedown, and that'll do for now," he finished, putting a card into his disk.

"My turn!" Snotlout drew his card, "I play the Spell card, Fiend Sanctuary! With this card, I can summon a Metal Fiend Token to the field!"

A strange metal figure made of ball bearings appeared. (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)

"Now, I'll sacrifice the Fiend Token to bring out the Armed Dragon LV5!"

Everyone watched as Snotlout's spiked Dragon appeared, the blades on its body sparkling in the night air. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700)

"Go, Armed Dragon LV5! Use those arms to destroy that Golem! Spiked Spinner!"

Armed Dragon flew over to the Golem, its arm spinning like mad before ramming its claws into the stony hide. The Golem blew up, sending a smoke cloud all around the field.

"All right," Snotlout smirked, "for my next move, I'll place two face downs and then I'll activate my Armed Dragon's ability… and it's a big one." He took his Dragon's card off the disk and slipped it into his Graveyard.

Hiccup and the others watched as a bigger version of the Armed Dragon appeared on Snotlout's field, stronger than the last. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000)

"Got that right," Hiccup nodded. "On the turn that LV5 wins a fight, you can trade him in for…"

"For the LV7," Snotlout finished.

"Level him up all you want, it won't matter!" Zaloog snapped as he drew his card. "And you're about to see why! First, I play Pot of Greed. This Spell card allows me to draw two more cards from my deck." he drew his new cards, and smiled at them. "Just what I wanted!" he held up a card. "The one and only… Don Zaloog!"

He slapped the card onto his disk, and actually moved onto the field, in a place where a monster would be. "And when I say 'one and only' I really mean it, because, my children, I am him!" he said proudly. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 1500)

Fishlegs blinked, "So wait…"

"He's a card?" Ragnar asked.

"Why does this not surprise me?" Hiccup shook his head.

"Is it that Shadow Charm by his eye?" Astrid asked as she looked at the eye patch on Zaloog's face.

"Looks like it brings Duel Spirits to life…" Heather figured.

"That's right, and with this," Don Zaloog held up another card, "Mustering of the Dark Scorpions, I can summon all of us. All Dark Scorpions in my hand, come join me on the field!" He ordered, placing four more cards onto his disk. "Dark Scorpion roll call!"

Gorg ran over, carrying a huge spiked mace. "Who's got the rolls? Where are the rolls?" (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500)

"He meant your name, Gorg!" The former nurse snapped at him as she joined them on the field, thorny whip in her hand. "I'm Meanae the Thorn!" (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1800)

Cliff held up his daggers as he stepped onto the field. "Name's Cliff the Trap Remover, guess how I remove 'em," (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1000)

"I'm Chick the Yellow!" C.K. shouted, hopping up and down, a large hammer on his back. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000) "I'm six foot… when I jump up!"

Snotlout looked at them. ' _Losers…_ ' he thought with disdain.

"Now, I play a Trap called Dark Scorpion Combination!" Don Zaloog held up his arm as the facedown card behind Chick came upward, causing the smaller thief to move away. "You see, when all the Dark Scorpions are out on the field, we can attack you directly, and for each attack, you lose 400 Life Points."

With a battle-cry, all the Dark Scorpions ran towards Snotlout, weapons at the ready.

"Take this!" Meanae shouted as she lashed at Snotlout. "Thorn Whip!"

"Double Blast Attack!" Don Zaloog pulled out two pistols and fired on Snotlout.

"Scorpion Slice!" Cliff slashed with both daggers.

"Mallet Mash!" Chick heaved his hammer up and down, hitting its mark.

"Hammer Hammer!" Gorg grunted, raising his own mace.

Snotlout doubled over, feeling the pain from the attacks as the group of thieves retreated back to their side of the field.

Snotlout: 2000

Zaloog: 4000

"This isn't how you wanna start a duel!" Hiccup called out.

Don Zaloog chuckled. "And there's more, too. You see Snotlout, now our special abilities go in effect with you."

Snotlout winced and looked up. "Say wha?"

"Yeah, since it's still battle damage, the effects still go off…" Hiccup noted.

"That's not good…" Fishlegs stated.

Gorg nodded. "That's right. First, a monster from your field must return to the top of your deck," he explained as Armed Dragon LV7 disappeared from the field.

"Next, a card on your field returns to your hand," Chick carried out as one of Snotlout's facedowns went back to his hand.

"There's more," Cliff smiled. "The first two cards on your deck go to your Graveyard…"

Snotlout growled as he tossed the Armed Dragon LV7 and a Spell card into the Graveyard slot.

"And then, one card in your hand is destroyed," Don Zaloog carried on.

Snotlout watched as his Masked Dragon disappeared from his hand.

"Finally, a card with 'Dark Scorpion' in its name can be added to our hand from the graveyard," Meanae giggled.

Don Zaloog picked up the mentioned card, "It's this, Dark Scorpion Combination… the card that started it all… and the card that will end it all!" He cried happily.

"Hang tough, Snotlout!" Hiccup cheered. "You can beat these guys!"

"Yeah, don't give up!" Heather added.

"Of course I can! Now be quiet and let the _Snot_ do is being!" said Snotlout angrily. "I activate Level Bond! Now, you get to draw two cards, and I get to Special Summon from the Graveyard, a high-level monster without paying a dime. So, I'll summon Armed Dragon LV7!"

With a flash of bright, red light, Snotlout's fearsome Dragon appeared once more, roaring. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000)

"Him again?" Don Zaloog drew his two cards thanks to the Trap card, "You give me no choice but to play two facedowns."

Fishlegs groaned. "I hate it when these guys play facedowns."

"I know, especially since one of those is Dark Scorpion Combination," said Hiccup looking at the facedown cards. "I'm willing to bet who use it next turn it to attack Snotlout directly again, and take the rest of his life points."

"It's my turn!" Snotlout drew his card. "And first, Armed Dragon LV7's ability activates! By discarding one monster card from my hand, any and all monster cards with equal or fewer attack points than the monster I tossed, is destroyed!"

The group of thieves stepped back, horrified.

Snotlout picked up one of the two cards in his hand. "So, the monster I'm discarding is Despair from the Dark which has 2800 attack points!"

Zaloog grinned. "Not so fast! I play a Trap called Retreat of the Dark Scorpions! Now, all Dark Scorpions on the field return to my hand," he explained as he, and his fellow thieves ran off the field. Zaloog snatched all the cards on his field, including his own monster card, and gathered them into his hands.

Snotlout groaned furiously. "Fine, I'll just attack directly. Armed Dragon LV7, attack with Dragon Sonic Sphere!"

Armed Dragon LV7 held up a paw as an orb of crackling, yellow energy appeared. The Dragon took aim and fired it straight at Zaloog, causing the leader of the group to cry out in pain.

Snotlout: 2000

Zaloog: 1200

Gorg and Chick watched, stunned. "Oh no!"

"How dare he strike the boss!" Cliff snapped.

"Don't you worry, we'll get him back," Meanae swore.

"Next, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Snotlout finished, sliding a card into his disk.

"One lucky move, that's all, it won't matter. It ends here!" Don Zaloog drew his card. "I summon myself, Don Zaloog, once again!" he chuckled as he came back to the field, "Next, I'll play Mustering of the Dark Scorpions!" He looked over his shoulder. "Welcome back team!"

Snotluot grinned as the thieves cheered. "Sorry, but they're not back yet. I play Ojama Trio!" Snotlout's facedown was revealed to show a picture of three of the Ojama brothers.

The Dark Scorpions looked around and were surprised to see the three Ojamas on their side instead of Snotlout's. (ATK: 0/DEF: 1000)×3

Cliff frowned. "Wait, how come they're over here?"

"So you all can't be," Snotlout explained, "Ojama Trio creates Ojama Tokens and they take up three of your monster spaces. Also, if they're destroyed, you lose 300 Life Points for each one! Plus, you can't sacrifice them for any of your high level monsters!"

"Sorry, pal," Black apologized as he did some sit-ups.

"Thanks for havin' us!" Green said as he picked his nose.

"I just love hot chocolate," Yellow said aloud as he held a cup of steaming cocoa.

"That means we can't come out?" Chick asked. "Man, no fair!"

"I can!" Meanae looked at Zaloog. "Go on boss, do what you have to do!"

Zaloog closed his eyes. "Meanae, I'll never forget you for this," he said as the female Scorpion came to his side, "I play Dark Scorpion - Tragedy of Love! When Don Zaloog and Meanae the Thorn are on the field, I can send Meanae to the Graveyard to destroy all of your monsters!"

Meanae screamed and jumped into the air, wrapping the Armed Dragon LV7's neck with her thorn whip, which seemed to emit electricity as it connected. The Dragon roared and exploded, sending Meanae flying.

"Avenge me, Boss, avenge me!" she screamed.

Zaloog looked at her, and then back to his opponent, pulling out his guns. "I sure will! Now I attack! Double Blast Attack!"

Snotlout was hit twice, kneeling over in pain.

Snotlout: 600

Zaloog: 1200

"And now, my special ability activates! You have to discard one random card from your hand!"

Snotlout looked at the only card in his hand and grinned. "Actually, it'd be my pleasure."

"Huh?" Zaloog looked at him, unsure of what he just said.

"The only card in my hand is… Ojamagic. And when this card is sent to the Graveyard, well then, Ojama Yellow, Green and Balck all come to my hand." He pulled out Ojama Yellow, Green, and Black.

"Bring them out! They don't scare me!" said Zaloog.

"Yeah, well, we'll what I can do to change that. My turn!" Snotlout drew his card. "Go, Pot of Greed!" He drew two more cards. "Next, I play Polymerization! Scared yet?"

Zaloog did actually look a bit scared as Snotlout reached for his three Ojamas. "Do your thing, Ojamas!" Snotlout shouted as he held up his three monsters. The three monsters popped out of their cards.

"You got it!" Yellow laughed before jumping into the air.

"Time to show these numbskulls!" Black grinned before joining his brother.

"It certainly is!" Green agreed before jumping too.

The three Ojama's crashed into one another's heads and the sky was lit up with brilliant colors. Everyone oohed and ahhed while Snotlout just watched, looking kind of irritated.

From the three Ojamas came a huge monster, one with sickly white skin, a very large, round heard with a pair of bikini briefs on top, and another pair in the normal area between its legs. Along with a huge nose, a small crown on the head bikini, a cape, and a pair of giant eyestalks with red eyes. (ATK: 0/DEF: 3000)

"OJAMA KING!" the fat-headed monster shouted, standing very tall in the sky, overshadowing the Dark Scorpions as the three Ojama tokens cheered him on.

"Now! I'll play my Spell Card Ojamuscle!" Snotlout played his final card.

Instantly, Ojama King began to bulk up now had a very firm six-pack and muscles as big as an elephant hide. Zaloog just stared up weathering slightly while the Ojama tokens just bowed to their king.

"Ojama tokens, come to daddy!" said Ojama King and then he shot out his large tongue and grabbed the tokens and ate them in one gulp. They watch a lease or small explosions emerge from the King's mouth.

"Ojamuscle, destroys all Ojama monsters out and for everyone that destroyed King gained 1000 attack points," Snotlout explained. "Oh, and since those were Ojama tokens that were destroyed you now lose 900 life points."

Zaloog was then blast with three explosions knocking them backwards.

Snotlout: 600

Zaloog: 300

"And now, Kings attack points will rise to 3000!" Snotlout announced. (ATK: 0-3000) "Now, go, Ojama King, attack Don with Flying Belly Flop Drop!" Snotlout ordered, pointing to the Shadow Rider.

Ojama King jumped high into the air and flew over Don Zaloog, his cape flying in the wind. He looked down as he began to descend, "INCOMING!"

Comically, but effectively, Ojama King fell from the sky like a rock and landed ontop of Don Zaloog, wiping the rest of his Life Points out.

Snotlout: 600 (Winner)

Zaloog: 0

Snotlout smiled as his friends cheered for his victory. "Bye-bye!"

Don Zaloog lifted his head as he lay in a somewhat deep imprint of his body, made by Ojama King, "It… can't be. We can't lose!" he moaned as his eyepatch began to glow a golden light.

Shouting all at once, his followers ran towards him, wanting to help. However, as they ran towards him, they began to glow as well and soon they disappeared, leaving only cards in their wake. Don Zaloog followed suit, the only thing left in the imprint hole, was a card, and his Shadow Charm eyepatch.

Snotlout bent down and picked up the card. "Well guys… looks like that's one less Shadow Rider to worry about," he said as he picked up the eyepatch.

"Good riddance," Ragnar said with a nod as he and Fishlegs began to pick up the other cards around the area.

"That's what you get for trying to steal," said Fishlegs as he looked at one of the cards.

"Well, at least the Spirit Keys are still safe," Gobber sighed in relief, heading to his room.

Astrid nodded and looked around. "But where's Don Zaloog, and the other Dark Scorpions?" she asked.

"Dunno, but Snotlout looks worried," Hiccup murmured, looking at the black-coated Slifer.

"Wonder why?" Heather wondered.

"No idea," said Ragnar.

* * *

Snotlout climbed into his bed and put his trusty earplugs in before lying down. He was about to go to sleep, but opened an eye to see The Dark Scorpions, now duel spirits, along with the Ojamas and a few of other Snotlout's monsters, having a good time.

"You sure know how to throw a good party, Ojama Yellow!" Don Zaloog praised, waving a transparent cup in the air and turned back to his original self.

"And it's goin' all night long!" Yellow laughed.

"Hey, where's Ojama King?" Meanae asked.

"He comes late," Yellow explained, floating around. "He likes to make a big entrance!"

"That's dynamite!" Zaloog laughed.


	40. A Lying Legend

In a large hallway made of stone, torches were lit without anyone touching them. At the end of the hall, figures in clay, painted masks and robes stood around a large sarcophagus as two others grabbed hold of the lid and pulled it away.

A figure in a beautiful golden death mask, staffs crossed over its arms slowly rose up in the sarcophagus. Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd of robed people as they knelt down at the presence of the figure.

"Why has my slumber been disrupted?" the figure demanded, looking at the congregation.

"To fulfill your duty to the Shadows," an ominous voice boomed from above as a large orb of light shined brightly. A symbol on the figure's mask glowed brightly seconds later. It stood up to full height and thrusted its staff outward.

"Ready my vessel!"

* * *

Another day meant another class at Duel Academy. While Banner usually did Alchemy and Fusion lessons, he also taught some History as well. He had artist renderings of the most famous duellists of all time taped to the blackboard while his students paid close attention.

He pointed to one that showed a young man with crazy, lightning bolt-like hair, "You all know Yugi the Undefeated," he then pointed to a picture of a young man with short hair and a smug look on his face, "and Kaiba the Revenger as dueling legends, far and away, the very best of their generation."

"Best looking, too," a random girl cooed.

"They're dreamboats," another girl sighed happily.

"I like Mai the Elegant," a guy threw in.

"But, you do realise, class, that there were other great duellists, well before their time," Banner added as he gathered his notes into a blue folder.

"Really?" Hiccup asked. "Like who?"

"One of the best from those days was a Pharaoh named Abidos III," he held up a rough sketch of a young man in robes and a headdress with a mask, "Abidos was undefeated."

Snotlout lifted his head, "Undefeated? That's interesting… He must've been something else." He then smirked. "Of course, it's a good thing he's not around today, because that undefeated record would go adios!"

Hiccup shook his head. "Yeah, you could probably even take down Yugi the Undefeated and Kaiba the Revenger, too!"

"Really?" Snotlout turned in his seat, a smirk on his face. "I'm know good, but I didn't know I'm that good."

Hiccup facepalmed himself. "I was being sarcastic."

Snotlout didn't take that bit of news just as well and screeched as he put Hiccup in a headlock.

Fishlegs watched the two of them, smiling nervously. "C'mon, guys, you're gonna get us in trouble…"

"Yeah, break it up," said Ragnar as he attempted to remove Snotlout from Hiccup.

"Oh, I'll break it?!" Snotlout pulled hard on Hiccup's ears. "Fine, how about this?"

"Guys, stop!" Fishlegs pleaded in a whisper. "He's gonna hear us!"

"He sure will…"

All four of the Slifers stopped and looked forward to see Banner staring straight at them, looking a bit sore at their behaviour.

"You can continue in detention."

Fishlegs groaned. "Not again."

* * *

That night, Wolflegs and Heather walked onto the lighthouse dock where Astrid was standing, looking out at sea. She turned and noticed them. "Thanks for coming," she said quietly.

"You seemed distraught when you asked us to come…" Heather said.

Astrid frowned slightly. "I just needed someone to talk to… I mean, I thought with Angar back, everything would be okay again, but it just seems like there are more questions now," she shook her head. "Then there's these Shadow Riders… I just don't know what to do."

"Nor I," Woflegs turned his attention to the water, "but know, that you and Angar are safe, Astrid."

"Sure its been kinda freaky these last few weeks, but it'll all be okay," Heather voiced with a smile.

Astrid was about to reply when the ground began to shake a little. Wolflegs and looked to the side and watched in horror as rotted mummies began to rise out of the cement. In an effort to protect them, Wolflegd stepped between the mummies and Astrid and Heather.

Wolflegs looked at them all. "Not good…"

* * *

"Man, I can't believe this! I spend more time in detention than I do in class," Fishlegs whined as he and his friends walked back to the Slifer Dorm after detention. "My mum's not gonna like this."

"Blame Mr. Touchy there…" said Snotlout.

"You started it!" Snotlout Chazz looked ready to go another round with Hiccup.

"Technically you started it, because you didn't know how to take a joke," Ragnar commented.

Snotlout just glared at him.

A loud screamed made everyone stop what they were doing.

"What was that?" Hiccup and the others ran to the edge of the path and looked out at the docks. They could see their friends being surrounded by a group of mummies.

"Wolflegs!"

"Astrid!"

"Heather!"

Wolflegs jerked his head back, hearing the cries of his friends. "Get out of here!" he shouted, "Save yourselves!"

Hiccup shook his head and started down the path again, "No way! You guys need-"

Everyone stopped running as mummies rose out of the ground ahead of them, as well as behind them.

"…Help."

"Give us your Spirit Key…" one of the mummies growled as the horde advanced on them.

"Shadow Riders?" Hiccup asked.

"Not all of them…" Ragnar muttered.

"Guys…" Syrus pointed up in the sky. "What's that?"

The others looked up to see something descend through the thick clouds. It was a strange boat, with a glass dome on top and a body structure made entirely, or at least what looked like, solid gold. As the boat came down, it began to shine brightly, making everyone cover their eyes.

"Duelists…" a voice from above called out to them as the light became brighter and brighter. "I have come for you!" Was the last thing they heard before they blacked out.

* * *

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a cold floor. Staring up at the sky, he could see a large moon out of the corner of his eye and a blanket of stars above him. Slowly, he sat up and looked around.

"Welcome back, Hiccup."

The Slifer turned to see Woflegs, Ragnar, Astrid, Heather, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Gobber and Banner sitting nearby.

"What the—?" Hiccup looked at his friends, and then turned to Gobber and Banner, "Professors?"

Gobber frowned and nodded. "Both me and Banner were having a discussion while we walked back to our rooms."

"Then those mummies found me and brought us here…" Banner finished.

"They must've tracked your key…" Hiccup figured.

A loud bong filled the air, making the others look towards the heightened walkway ahead of them.

Hiccup rushed to the platform and looked to the other end of the strange ship they were on. Dozens of men in robes, wearing masks and carrying spears and swords occupied the left and ride sides of the other end while, in the middle of them, on the platform, a large golden throne stood, a figure in ancient Egyptian style robe lounged, looking bored.

Everyone else gathered around Hiccup, peeking over the platform at the figure. The being on the throne lifted its masked head, looking straight at them.

"Hello there…"

Banner yelped and fell over onto his back, fainting.

Fishlegs and Snotlout looked over their shoulders at him as Pharaoh pawed at his master.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I dunno… looks like he's seen a ghost."

The figure stood up from its seat, "What is this?"

Hiccup hopped onto the platform, causing his friends to call out to him. "Hey, what's the big idea?!" he demanded.

"That's not how one should address an Egyptian Pharaoh," the figure scolded, walking towards the center of the platform.

"Egyptian Pharaoh?" Hiccup asked.

Ragnar frowned. "He looks like the picture that Banner showed us in class today…"

"You mean the undefeated Pharaoh…" Heather muttered in shock.

Astrid nodded. "Abidos…"

Abidos looked at the others. "You two," he pointed to Astrid and Heather, "you two would make fine palace girls, my beautiful doves."

"Shouldn't have said that," said Hiccup under his breath.

"No joke," said Ragnar.

Astrid glared at him with the most frightening death glare she could muster. "The name's Astrid,"

"And Heather!" Heather added producing the same glare.

"You masked weirdo," Astrid finished. "Now, what's going on?!"

"He's a Shadow Rider," Wolflegs explained. "After those Sacred Beast cards, like all the others."

"Looks like the punk's got us outnumbered," Snotlout added, glaring at the armed guards behind Abidos.

Abidos nodded. "That's right, so leave all your Keys and walk away. You don't want to duel me."

"Actually, Abidos, one of us would like to have that honour. We'll show you how we do things in the 21st century!" said Ragnar getting onto the platform.

Abidos gawked at him from behind his mask. "You can't talk to me like that!"

"You can't talk to him like that!" one of his guards grunted.

"I just did," said Ragnar. "And I'm going to take you one."

"Ragnar, you do realize that this will be a Shadow Game, right?" Woflegs asked.

"He's right," Heather stepped forward a bit. "Not only is your Key on the line, but your soul as well!"

"And this guy's undefeated!" Fishlegs added in a begging tone. "Don't do it…"

"He's fine…" Hiccup waved off their concerns. "He's got this handled."

Abidos huffed. "Fine, if you wanna lose that badly, I'll take you on. Now, prepare yourself Key-Keeper, for—"

"Yeah, yeah, we know. This isn't our first Shadow Game…" Snotlout interrupted.

"Hey Ragnar, catch!" Heather threw a duel disk to her boyfriend.

Fishlegs looked at the disk, and then turned to his now open backpack. "Hey, that duel disk looks like mine."

Ragnar caught the disk and brought out his deck from his belt, turning back to Abidos with a smirk. "Time to win."

Both Ragnar and Abidos inserted their decks into their own disks. Abidos' was another custom-made duel disk. It looked like a regular golden armlet for a Pharaoh, but seconds after he put his deck in, a metal wing popped out and spread outward, creating a disk field for the duel.

"Duel!"

Ragnar: 4000

Abidos: 4000

"Let's see…" Abidos drew the first card of the duel. "First, I think I'll summon Pharaonic Protector in defense mode…"

A monster, looking identical to some of the guards behind Abidos appeared, kneeling down. (ATK: 900/DEF: 0)

Fishlegs stared at the monster. "No defence points?"

"That had points on that great either," Hiccup frowned.

"And, I'll lay down a facedown. Your turn," Abidos slipped a single card into his disk.

Ragnar drew his card. "My turn," he said.

Abidos shook his head as his just played facedown was revealed to show a strange coffin. "Not before I activate my Trap card, The First Sarcophagus!"

Hiccup looked at the Trap card. "I've never heard of that card."

"Neither have I," said Ragnar slightly troubled.

"Well, after this match, you won't forget it," Abidos chuckled. "Though, you'll have to wait until I bring out the other two sarcophagi, before you see why, Key-Keeper!"

"I'm not scared of that," Ragnar smirked as he selected a card. "I've seen worse."

Abidos glared. "Put your cards where your mouth is then, boy!"

Ragnar shrugged. "If you so insist I summon Queen's Knight in attack mode!"

Then appearing on his field was his female knight, who had both her sword and shield in hand. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)

"And now I activate my spell card Fairy Crush and I'll equip it to Queen's Knight." Queen's Knight glowed slightly as the equip card was placed on her. "Now, whenever Queen's Knight battles one of your monsters, if it's defence points are lower than her attack points then the difference is dealt to you was damage. Now, attack!"

Queen's Knight charged and sliced at Pharaonic Protector destroying him instantly.

Hiccup: 4000

Abidos: 2500

"And with that I'll and my turn," said Ragnar smirking slightly. "So, you want to call it quits yet? Because I warn you duelling's is not what it used to be."

"No, it's much tamer now," Abidos hissed as he drew his card, and while his Trap card glowed. "Let me give you a taste of the old-school. I play Second Sarcophagus!" He declared as another Sarcophagus card appeared on the field. "And once the third one is played, this duel and your soul will be mine!"

Heather crossed her arms, watching the duel closely. "What's it do…?"

"I don't wanna know!" Fishlegs whimpered.

"Guys, calm down," said Hiccup, looking mostly to the panicked Fishlegs. "Ragnar's been through way worse."

"Let's hope," said Wolflegs.

Abidos was listening to this and glared at Ragnar. "Next, I'll play my Pot of Greed!" Abidos declared, drawing two more cards, and slipped a newly drawn card into his disk. "Go! Tribute to the Doomed! Now, by discarding one card from my hand…" he paused and sent one card to the Graveyard. "A monster of yours is destroyed!"

Ragnar frowned just slightly as Queen's Knight was dragged into the underworld.

"Next, I'll play Pharaoh's Servant in attack mode!" Abidos placed a card on his disk and a man in a mask, carrying a spear appeared on the field. (ATK: 900/DEF: 0)

"Now, stick him!"

The Servant nodded and ran over to Ragnar, then swung his spear hard into him. Ragnar closed his eye tightly in pain as his points went down.

Ragnar: 3100

Abidos: 2500

"My undefeated record will be staying intact, but you will not!" Abidos slipped another card into a slot of his disk. "Don't worry, Key-Keeper, it's your turn again. That is, if you have the strength to play it, that is."

Ragnar shrugged off the attack. "Oh, I think I do," he said as he drew. "Okay now I play the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon and thanks to this Carla can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field. So you can say goodbye to the First Sarcophagus!"

"Looks like we're not going to be seeing what it does," said Hiccup.

A gust of wind then headed straight towards the First Sarcophagus,

"I don't think so!" Abidos shouted as he tossed a card into the Graveyard, while his facedown flipped over. "Go, Magic Jammer! This card turns your Mystical Space Typhoon and turns it into dismal breeze!" he said smugly as a dark aura shot out of his Trap card and ran into Ragnar's Spell, blowing it away.

Ragnar breathed lightly. "Not bad. Now that's what I thought was gonna happen."

"You should be thinking about getting some new cards for that weak deck," Abidos spat.

Fishlegs' jaw dropped. "He shouldn't have said that…"

"Yeah, bad call," Astrid agreed with him.

"You going to regret saying that," said Heather glaring at him.

"In more ways than one," said Hiccup.

Ragnar glared at Abidos that would make a sensible duellist nervous. "See if this is weak! I summon the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" Then appearing on the field was an elf holding a long sword in his hands. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 1200) "And now attack!"

Celtic Guardian charged towards Pharaoh's Servant and sliced right through with his sword.

Ragnar: 3100

Abidos: 2100

"You… can't… attack me…" Abidos fell to his hands and knees, feeling the leftover pain.

Ragnar scratched his head. "Check the rulebook, mate, yes I can. It's how you play the game."

"But I am Abidos!" the Pharaoh protested. "The greatest duelist ever!"

Hiccup frowned at him. "Greatest? I'm not so sure about that. To tell ya the truth, ya haven't even been duelling that great," he confessed. "I mean, for someone undefeated, I was kinda expecting for ya know, some powerhouse monsters or some rare cards… but so far, I've been kinda underwhelmed."

Fishlegs nodded. "No joke… his cards are barely better than a Starter Deck! For a legend, this guy is a bit of a let down."

"Looks like Ragnar's gonna win this one easy," Snotlout murmured.

"Your move, Abidos," Ragnar concluded, but watched as the Shadow Rider wasn't moving. He was just sitting there. "Uh… Abidos?"

In the throne room, in the mighty palace of the Pharaoh in Egypt, a line of priests stood silently as one of their own stood across from Abidos, both of them with a strange, golden armlet on their wrists.

"Now," Abidos waved his hand forward. "I'll attack with Sinister Serpent!"

The Priest yelled in pain as a giant green snake leapt out of a stone tablet and bit into him.

"I win another match!"

From there, more and more priests challenged the young Pharaoh, but Abidos kept beating them all with various monsters.

"I cannot be beaten!" he cried out as the final priest was defeated.

The priest knelt down in front of his lord. "You are the greatest, O Pharaoh…"

"All hail Abidos!" another Priest cried.

"Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!"

Abidos smirked at his victory and retreated back to his throne while his priests left the room, disgruntled.

One huffed. "I'm getting really sick and tired of losing to this spoiled brat all the time!"

"But, if we don't, he'll probably feed us to the lions," one pointed out.

Abidos knelt there, thoughts running through his head.

"Wait… could it be that all my servants let me win?"

Hiccup reared his head back as those words reached his ears. "Let you win…?"

"Man, what a giant loser this guy is," Snotlout scoffed.

Fishlegs tilted his head. "You know what, I wouldn't mind having some servants like that."

"But his whole life has been a lie," said Astrid quietly.

"I can't feel sorry for him," said Heather whispered.

Ragnar sighed. "Well then I guess this is your first real duel then…" he said snapping his fingers, getting his attention. "Then get up and continue."

"Huh?"

Ragnar shrugged. "Easy wins aren't something I like. Plus, you can't quit your first real duel. But if we're gonna do this, then let's start by taking off that mask."

Abidos looked at him and slowly reached up and pulled away his golden mask, to reveal a handsome young man with tan skin and large, blue-gray eyes.

"Ragnar, just promise to give it everything you got," Abidos pleaded.

"You have my word," said Ragnar. "And I'll finish my turnoff with one facedown card. Your move."

"Very well! I activate Third Sarcophagus!" Abidos' deck glowed brightly as a third coffin card appeared on his field, joining the first two.

"I don't think empowering a Shadow Rider to do better was a good master plan," said Heather.

"No joke," Snotlout muttered, "bad idea."

"That's Ragnar for you, he can't resist boosting anyone's confidence even his opponents," said Hiccup.

"I just hope it doesn't cost us," said Astrid.

"Now, I sacrifice all three sarcophagi to finally summon, Spirit of the Pharaoh in attack mode!" Abidos smiled widely as his three cards lit up like a wildfire.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Spirit of the who-what-now?"

In the place of the three cards, a large, golden sarcophagus appeared on the field. With creaks and groans, the sarcophagus slid open and a large figure with dark blue skin, wearing impressive Egyptian armor, and carrying both a hooked staff and a sleek sword climbed out, growling. (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)

"Guess he looks cool, but I gotta admit…" Ragnar shrugged, "I expected a lot more than 2500 attack points."

"I'm not done!" Abidos snapped at him. "A Pharaoh is nothing without his servants! You see, whenever he summoned." He nodded to his newest monster. "I can Special Summon up to four Level 2 Zombies from my Graveyard!"

Everyone watched as two Pharaoh Servants and two Pharaonic Protectors appeared alongside the Spirit of the Pharaoh. (ATK: 900/DEF: 0)×4

"And now, my draw!" Abidos drew his card.

"Just so you know the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian can't be destroyed by monsters with 1900 points or more which means you won't be going past him," said Ragnar gesturing to his Celtic Guardian.

"Then… I suppose it's a very good thing, that I have this card," Abidos held up one of the cards from his hand, earning a questioning look from Hiccup. "I activate the powers of Thousand Energy! Now, all Level 2 monsters on the field gain 1000 attack points!" (ATK: 900-1900)×4

Hiccup stared. "No way!"

"Oh man…!" Fishlegs hid under the top of the platform. "Not good!"

"Oh man is right…"

Everyone turned to see Gobber.

"Now those monsters all have 500 more ATK points than the Celtic Guardian!" Gobber explained.

"Which means the total attack points will have enough to wipe out the remainder of Ragnar's life points," said Banner, who sat up and was a Pharaoh.

"Then that means he'll lose," said Heather covering her mouth.

"Not yet because I've got a facedown card," said Ragnar revealing a trap card with an image of warriors in some kind of tent been healed by Injection Fairy Lily. "Go Warrior First-Aid! For every warrior type monster I have out I we gain 500 life points."

Ragnar closed his eyes as he began to glow feeling his energy been restored.

Ragnar: 3600

Abidos: 2100

"He made it," said Heather with relief.

"Not quite," said Hiccup.

First, two of the Pharaoh's Servants ran passed Celtic Guardian and over to Hiccup and skewered him with both spears, dealing a small chunk of damage, followed only by the two Pharaonic Protectors. Ragnar gritted his teeth as the painful energy rippled through his body.

"Celtic Guardian may survive the battle, but Ragnar still takes the damage," Astrid whispered. "Not good, because that's 400 points of damage for each of those Zombies!"

"For each one?!" Fishlegs looked up at her. "But that'll be like 2100 Life Points!"

Ragnar: 1500

Abidos: 2100

"There's more," Abidos smiled, "I still have Spirit of the Pharaoh himself! Now, attack!" he ordered.

The large undead Pharaoh bumrushed to Ragnar's's field and sliced into Celtic Guardian with his sword, causing Ragnar to feel more and more damage.

Ragnar: 400

Abidos: 2100

"Now, I think I'll sacrifice one of my Pharaoh's Servants in order to activate a Spell Card known as Soul Guide," Abidos continued as one of his monsters disappeared. "It gives me Life Points equal to the attack points of the monster I lost, but it's about to get a whole lot better!"

Ragnar: 400

Abidos: 4000

"Soul Guide also lets me put a copy of the card I just sacrificed right back into my hand," Abidos watched as his card returned, then looked to Ragnar. "And even though that Thousand Energy will certainly destroy my monsters, from how your Life Points will turn out, it will be worth it! My record shall stand!" he shouted as all his lower Level Zombies were blown to dust.

Ragnar panted as a small smile grew on his face.

"What's so funny?" he asked slowly. "You know you're about to lose your soul…"

"Not yet…" Ragnar smirked. "Because now it's my move and the first thing I'll do is actively Monster Reborn, bringing back my Queen's Knight." They watched as Queen's Knight returned to the field. "And join in on the battlefield is my Command Knight." Then appearing on the field was the red armoured female knight. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1900) "And thanks to her special ability or Warrior type monsters I have out gained 400 additional attack points."

Command Knight raised her sword and at once all of Ragnar's monsters gained a power boost. (ATK: 1500-1900), (ATK: 1400-1900), (ATK: 1200-1600)

"Ha, your monsters are still too weak to defeat my Pharaoh," said Abidos.

"I'm not done yet, because I play the Spell Card the Allied Forces!" said Ragnar as he placed card in his Duel Disk slot. "And thanks to this card all my Warriors game to wanted points for every Warrior on my field that's an extra 600 attack points."

Abidos gasped as Ragnar's monsters gained another power boost. (ATK: 1900-2500), (ATK: 1800-2400), (ATK: 1600-2200)

"That's enough points to win the duel," said Hiccup.

"He's won!" Heather cheered.

"Now, Queen's Knight at his Pharaoh!" Ragnar commanded.

"No!" Abidos yelled.

Queen's Knight and Pharaoh charged one another dealing powerful swipes with their swords and the two of them exploded the moment their blade make contact with each other.

"Now! Celtic Guardian! Command Knight! Attack Abidos directly!"

Abidos could only watch as Ragnar's two remaining warriors charge towards him bringing their swords down on top of him.

Ragnar: 500 (Winner)

Abidos: 0

"I guess that that," said Ragnar. "And for your first real duel that was pretty good."

"Yeah, but not as good as Ragnar," said Heather smiling.

"I never doubted him," said Hiccup.

Fishlegs looked towards the beaten Shadow Rider. "Abidos doesn't look so hot."

Ragnar looked at Abidos, who was sitting quietly on his knees and walked over to him. "Hey, what's the matter?" he asked.

Abidos lifted his head and looked at him. "I used to think I was the best duellist of all time, but I now know… that I need a lot of practice to be a true duelling legend."

"Hey, we all do…" Ragnar stated. "None of us would have become as great as we are, without practice."

"Actually, I have a favour to ask of Ragnar…" Abidos rose to his feet and took the Slifer's hand, "Come back with me, Ragnar. You're too good for this place. Come back with me to my kingdom and I can promise you power and fame."

"Uh… nice offer," said Ragnar. "I appreciate the offer, but I have a home here plus Heather would never forgive me if I ran off with a 3000-year-old guy."

"He's got that right," said Heather crossing her arms.

"But we could duel again, if you're ever around," Ragnar assured.

Abidos nodded to him. "Same with you, that is if you can find a time-warping vortex wormhole…" he shook his head. "You know what, I'll just call you."

After everyone made it off safely, they all watched as Abidos bid his final farewell before ascending into the sky. As the boat disappeared, everyone else decided to go separate ways back home.

"You know… Abidos wasn't such a bad guy," Hiccup admitted as Ragnar looked at the headband that Abidos gave him. "Our collection just keeps on growing…"

"No kidding," said Ragnar.

Snotlout grumbled just a little. "You guys get cool stuff and all I get is an eyepatch!" He pulled out the eyepatch in question. "I can't use this!"

"It's because Ragnar beat a legend," Hiccup smirked.

"LEGEND?! He was a phony! He's a legend now because Ragnar beat him?!"

Fishlegs shrugged. "That is what all the history books say," he pointed out.

"Well, we know the truth!" Snotlout snapped, spinning on his heel and glaring at Fishlegs.

"No need to lose your head, Snotlout," Hiccup said. "It was just a joke…"

"Besides, I think Hiccup is more of a legend and I," Ragnar admitted.

"I think you're both legend in my eyes," said Gobber. "And now we've only got three more Shadow Rider, to deal with…"

"And we'll beat them all…" Hiccup confidently said.

While the group walked off, Banner stood on a hill, watching them leave. He overheard the others and nodded slowly.

"Good, children, because soon, you will have the chance to truly earn it," he murmured, petting Pharaoh. "Soon, you will face your true test."

* * *

Warrior First-Aid

Trap Card

You gain 500 Life Points were everywhere face up Warrior-Type monster on your side of the field.

Card image: Warriors in some kind of tent been healed by Injection Fairy Lily


	41. PaniK Attack

Deep within the forest at Duel Academy a shadowy figure was looking at the campus. His appearance was hard to make out, because the shadow of the trees but he was certainly large and threatening looking and around his waist was a belt with the millennium symbol on it.

"Time to begin my hunt," he said.

* * *

Heather was peering through the hospital door and was watching Astrid looking at Agnar as he slept in his bed. She wish there was something she could do to help, but there was nothing she could think of.

"Still hasn't remembered has he?" said a voice.

Heather turned and found Ragnar standing behind her. "No. I just wish I can help."

"We should be just thankful that he's back," said Ragnar.

"I know, but it still doesn't feel like enough."

"It never is."

Ragnar gestured for her to follow him down the corridor and she did so gladly.

"Maybe when this Shadow Riders businesses over he'll be able to remember," he said.

"You think?"

"Well, I can only hope."

Heather looked back as the hospital door disappeared from view. "You know she spending a lot more time with Agnar then she is with Hiccup."

Ragnar nodded. "Tell me about it and the two of them still haven't admitted their feelings."

Heather shook her head. "I think she's just a bit afraid that Hiccup isn't interested in her."

Ragnar rolled his eyes. "I think Hiccup feels the same way."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed.

"Those two are worried about nothing," said Heather.

"It's typical, that two people who love each other very much have a hard time admitting their feelings to the other," said Ragnar in disbelief.

"It is you feel the same way about me?" Heather asked raising an eyebrow.

Ragnar looked at her. "Uh…"

Heather giggled. "It's all right, I felt the same."

The two of them laughed.

"Were you to laughing about?" said a voice.

They looked up and saw Hiccup standing in front of them.

"Oh, just talking about how he will have a hard time admitting to their feelings to someone they really like," said Heather casually.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, you two did take a long time."

They watched as Hiccup to pass them and saw him heading towards the hospital.

"You know, Hiccup is the smartest guy I know and one of the best duellist I know," said Ragnar.

"But…" Heather pushed.

"Sometimes I think he can be completely oblivious."

Heather couldn't help but nod in agreement and she felt the same way about Astrid.

* * *

It was late at night and Heather was preparing her bath. While the hot water was running she was talking to Ragnar through her PDA.

"Still hasn't talked to her has he?" she said.

"Nope and there's only how far I can push him," said Ragnar.

"We could try tricking them?" Heather suggested.

Ragnar blinked at her. "You will have a very deceitful mind." His eyes wide and when he suddenly realised what he said. "And I mean that in the best possible way. The only question is, how do we do it?"

Heather paused. What Ragnar said was true Hiccup and Astrid were not the easiest people to fool. Also the wrong move could jeopardise their friendship which is something she would like to avoid.

"I'll have to think on that, but will have to do it very carefully."

"Well, let me know if you have any other ideas," said Ragnar.

"Of course, good—"

Suddenly a pair of large hands covered Heather's mouth making her drop her PDA.

"Heather? Heather? Is everything all right?" said Ragnar.

Heather tried to scream, but all that came out were muffled voices as she was slowly dragged outside.

* * *

A hour later, Ragnar had called the other Gate Keepers along with Fishlegs and the twins and they all met at Heather's room.

"What happened exactly?" Astrid asked as she examined the room.

"We were just talking and then she just cut off," said Ragnar.

"Why did she do that?" Tuffnut questioned.

"I don't think she had a choice," said Hiccup who made his way to the bathroom. He then placed his hand in the still running water. "The water still running and it's cold."

"And here her a PDA," said Fishlegs putting it up.

"But who could break in into the Obelisk Girls Dormitory?" said Ruffnut.

"I've checked the security cameras, but they show nothing just a lot of dark," said Gobber.

Astrid looked at Hiccup and the two of them were thinking the same thing. "Shadow Riders?"

"We need to find her and fast?" said Ragnar.

"But where do we start?" Snotlout asked.

Hiccup looked out over the balcony and he bent down to pick something. "I think we can start by following these."

Hiccup then show them some sort of pill.

"What are they?" Ruffnut asked staring at them.

"Fish oil pills?" said Ragnar taking the pill from Hiccup. "The fish oil is said to help with those with learning difficulties."

"Wait? Heather has learning difficulties?" Tuffnut blinked.

"No, she was getting them for me," Ragnar admitted.

"But—"

"Guys, can we focus," said Hiccup loudly. Everyone turned to look at him. "Thank you. Now, it looks like Heather's left is a trail we followed we find her."

"Let's just hope we're not too late," said Astrid.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep within the forest, Heather was shoved towards the ground. She looked at her abductor and found that he was a tall muscular man with raven-black hair. Though the thing that caught her were his eyes, they were deep and dark slightly terrifying.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Someone you wish you had never met," he said.

"How about a name?"

"I am known as PaniK," said the man irritably.

Heather rolled her eyes. "That's original."

"Quiet!" he roared. He then pulled out his Duel Disk which resembled that of a demonic arm. "You and me are about to duel."

Heather got up. "You're a Shadow Rider."

"Yes, and as you know if I win this duel I win your Spirit Key and you will be cast down into the shadows for all eternity."

"I'm not scared of you," she said.

"You should be, I have scared even the bravest of duellist. Making them cry into the night like the weak falls they truly are."

"Then how about you stop talking and start duelling," said Heather as he strapped her Duel Disk on and inserted her deck.

PaniK just snarled at her as he activated his Duel Disk.

"Duel!"

Heather: 4000

PaniK: 4000

"I'll start," said Heather as he drew. "And I summon Mechanicalchaser in attack mode and end my turn!" Then the robotic arsenal appeared on the field. (ATK: 1850/ DEF: 800)

"Then it is my move," said PaniK as he drew. He then opened a slot in his Duel Disk and placed a card with the image of a Dark Castle shrouded in shadows. "And I'll start by playing the Field Spell, Shroud of the Castle of Dark Illusions."

Heather looked up and saw a Dark Castle appearing over their heads. Suddenly a sort of dark veil exited from it and covered Panik's field completely in darkness preventing her from seeing him at all.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"My entire side of the field is now covered in darkness preventing you from attacking and also it will give a boost to my monsters of darkness by 500 points."

Heather began to sweat. ' _How can I find if I don't know what I'm fighting against_?'

"I know what you're thinking, you're thinking that now it's entirely impossible for you to fight back, and you're right," said Paink from within the shadows. "Now, I summon Dark Stalker!"

Heather saw something appearing on to the field, but the darkness was so thick that she was unable to see it.

"And now he attacks your Mechanicalchaser!"

Then suddenly springing out of the darkness was a demonic-looking creature holding a curved sword in his hand. (ATK: 2140/ DEF: 1790)

It swung it soared at Mechanicalchaser creating a huge explosion which caught Heather by surprise.

Heather: 3710

PaniK: 4000

Then quickly as it appeared a jump back into the shadows preventing her from attacking.

"There's no way you can win, not as long as my shadows cover the field," said PaniK laughing maniacally.

"Coward!" Heather yelled as try to make herself steady. "How about instead of hiding youth by like a real man."

"Only one person has ever called me a coward," PaniK growled. "And once I defeat you I will have the power to take him down."

Heather wasn't quite sure what he meant, but it was clear that she hit a nerve. She wished Ragnar on the others were there and hoped that they were following her trail.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were following the trail of fish oil pills Heather had left.

"Are we there yet?" Tuffnut muttered.

"We'll get there when we get there," said Astrid irritably.

"But we've been walking for hours," Ruffnut moaned.

"We've only been walking a few minutes," said Hiccup.

"It sure feels like hours," Snotlout muttered.

"Another talk we need to find Heather and fast," said Ragnar taking the lead.

"I've never seen him act like this," said Tuffnut.

"Bro, his girlfriend has just been abducted by a creepy guy who wants to send her soul to the Shadow Realm," Ruffnut pointed out, "he's going to be a little edgy."

"Hey! I heard something up ahead," said Astrid.

They soon emerged out of a few trees and there they saw Heather duelling someone covered in shadows.

"Heather!" Ragnar yelled.

Heather looked around and saw them. "Guys! Thank Thor, you're here!"

"What's this?" said the man in the shadows. "More victims for me to pray upon."

"No," said Heather narrowing her eyes, "because I'm going to beat you before you ever get the chance."

The man laughed. "Such spirit, such a shame that I have to crush it."

"Uh… Heather you mind explaining who you are duelling against?" Hiccup asked.

"He calls himself PainK and claims he's going to beat me, but all he's done is hide in the shadows like a coward," said Heather looking into the shadows.

"PainK?" said Ragnar looking towards the shadows.

"Someone you know?" Snotlout asked.

"Someone I've heard of," said Ragnar. "I think he was a duelling mercenary hired by Pegasus himself."

"You mean like the Paradox Brothers?" said Hiccup.

"Yeah, but he disappeared after Duellist Kingdom."

"Do you know anything that could help, Heather?" Astrid asked.

"All I've read about him is that he likes to torment his opponents, he likes to take away all hope from them and play around with them."

Snotlout gulped.

"She'll be fine," said Hiccup.

"Yeah, she can take down this loser," said Astrid.

Heather drew her card and looked at PaniK's field. ' _As long as that field spells in play and not able to attack his monsters, but I can still attack him_ ,' she thought.

"I now summon Machine Solider in attack mode," Heather declared.

Then suddenly appearing on the field was some sort of robotic solider with silver armour and holding a rife in his hands. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 900)

"Ha, your Solider is no match for my beast and even if he was thanks to my Field Spell he can't attack," PaniK laughed.

"Whoever said I was attacking your monsters," Heather smirked. PaniK stopped laughing at once. "My Knight is able to bypass your monsters and attack you directly."

PaniK gasped in horror.

"Now attack!" Heather ordered.

Machine Solider then aimed his rife and pulled the trigger. Bullets shot right through the shadows covering PaniK's field and struck him in the chest causing him to yell.

Heather: 3710

PaniK: 2800

"What a move!" Fishlegs cheered.

"That's showing him," said Astrid.

Panik grunted and glared towards Heather. "One lucky shot and you believe you've won. I'm sorry to say, but you're deluding yourself I am still very much in control of this duel."

"Not from where I'm standing," said Heather. "I'll plays another card facedown and end my turn."

PaniK drew his card. "I summon another Demon Knight!"

Again something appeared on his field, the shadows made it impossible for Heather to see what it was.

"How she supposed to find what he can't see?" Fishlegs asked.

"It won't be easy, but it is doable," said Hiccup.

"She just has to play carefully and attack when she has the opportunity," said Ragnar.

"Now, Demon Knight attack her Knight with Demonic Slash!" PaniK ordered.

Then suddenly appearing out of the shadows was a demon wearing dark armour and with a sword and shield in hand. (ATK: 2290/ DEF: 1830)

It brought it saw down upon Machine Solider creating a massive explosion that slammed into Heather.

Heather: 2620

PaniK: 2800

"I activate Machine Solider special ability!" Heather yelled. "When he's destroyed I can summon a monster with Machine and its name on my hand as long as it has 1000 or less attack points. And I summon Machine Defender!" Suddenly appearing on the field was a large machine appearing in a kneeling position. (ATK: 100/ DEF: 2000) "And he gains 100 defence points for every machine on the field." (ATK: 2000-2100)

"Oh, and now I activate one of my facedown cards, Cyber Summon Blaster," said Heather as a high-tech turret with a dish instead of a gun appeared on the field. "And as long as this card out every time I special summon a Machine Type monster you take 300 points of damage and seeing how I just summoned one."

Heather blasted then fired a bolt of electricity straight at PaniK and he roared in pain.

Heather: 2620

PaniK: 2500

"Nice, now she can damage him without even attacking," said Ragnar.

"True, but it is only a temporary measure," said Hiccup grimly.

Everyone looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.

"It's just that attack Panik with her blaster she has to summon nine machine to do damage I'm not saying it's impossible, but I don't think PaniK will give her that chance."

His point was soon proven when PaniK recovered from Heather's surprise attack. "Dark Stalker destroy her Defender!"

Dark Stalker jumped out of the shadows once again and sliced right through Defender.

"You cannot win, it is only a matter of time before I break through your defence and then you will be easy prey," said PaniK licking his lips.

"We'll see," said Heather as she drew. "Okay, I play my Graceful Charity which allows me to draw three cards so long as I discard two."

Heather drew her three cards and then discarded two of them into a Graveyard slot. "And now I'll play Robotic Knight in defence mode and then my turn."

Suddenly robot knight appeared on the field, but unlike previous one this one looks like a French knight as it appeared in a kneeling position. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1800)

"Ha, that's all you can do how pathetic," said PaniK as he drew when he looked at the card he drew he smiled evilly. He then revealed a card with an image of some sort of dark altar. "You're all but done for now, because now I activate the Ritual Spell Card, Dark Summoning."

Suddenly the shadows of his field parted away as an altar appeared in front of him. It looks likely demonic and there was a strange kind of dark all surrounding it.

"I now sacrifice my two monsters in order to summon the King of Dark Illusions!" Panik roared.

Everyone watched as his two monsters turned into darkness and ended it to the altar. Then suddenly appearing in a vortex of shadows was some sort of demon wearing armour that resembled that of the King. His dark red eyes pierced through the shadows and on top of his head stood a crown that looked like it was made of bones. (ATK: 2990/ DEF: 3210)

"And don't forget he gains a power boost thanks to my Field Spell."

When the shadows fell down upon his King its red eyes began to glow even more fiercely. (ATK: 2990-3490)

"That's not good," Fishlegs quivered.

"It's all right, Heather's monster still in defence mode," said Snotlout.

"Not for long," said PainK. "For you see once per turn my King can switch the battle position of one of my opponents monsters."

"What?" Heather gaped.

Everyone watched as her Robotic Knight was suddenly forced to onto its feet and reaching for it sword.

"Not good," said Fishlegs.

"Now, my King, destroy her Knight with Demonic Illusion!" PaniK ordered.

Suddenly shadows jumped right out from PainK's field and they pierced the Robotic Knight. The Robotic Knight exploded knocking Heather right off her feet.

Heather: 730

PaniK: 2500

"Heather!" Ragnar cried.

"Soon you will fall prey to the shadows and so will your friends," said PaniK evilly. "They said you cannot win so what is the point of trying. Give up now and I may spare your friends this torment."

"Never," said Heather she got back onto the feet.

"Have you forgotten that you still cannot attack and my King is so strong that hardly any monster can touch him."

"Doesn't mean I'll give up trying," said Heather facing him with a cold expression.

"That's telling him!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Kick this guy's butt!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Don't worry, I will, because now it's my turn," said Heather as she drew her next card. She looked at it and a smile crept on her face. "Now I remove my Machine King from the game in order summon Machine Queen to the field!"

"But you don't have Machine King in your graveyard!" PainK roared.

"Did you forget my Graceful Charity?" Heather asked as she removed her Machine King from her Graveyard slot. Suddenly her robotic Queen appeared on the field (ATK: 2400/ DEF: 2200)

"Oh, and since I just special summon the Machine monster you take we added point of damage thanks to my Blaster,"

Her blaster then fired a pulse rate at PainK and he roared in pain.

Heather: 730

PaniK: 2200

"You're only delaying the inevitable, my King can easily dispatch that hunk of tin," PainK snarled.

"We'll see about that, because now I activate the field spell Machine Palace!" Heather said as she opened a slot on her Duel Disk and placed a card with the image of a metal castle surrounding a scrapyard.

Then suddenly the castle above their heads shattered and appearing behind Heather was some sort of power is made completely of metal and tons of scrap surrounding the field.

"And without your Shroud not only am I able to attack now, but your King loses some points."

PainK stared up at his King which began to lose power. (ATK: 3490-2990)

"It matters not, because King is still strong enough to defeat you," he said.

"I'm afraid not," Heather smiled. "You see thanks to my Palace I can Special Summon any Machine monster for my hand so long as I've removed from play monsters for my Graveyard who levels equal to the level the monster I'm about to summon. So I remove Mechanicalchaser and Robotic Knight from Graveyard…" Mechanicalchaser and Robotic Knight appeared on the field briefly, before they vanished, "in order summon Perfect Machine King!"

Then suddenly appearing on the field was a massive robot that shadow covered PainK's field. (ATK: 2700/ DEF: 1500)

"And let's not forget, since I just special summon another Machine type you take 300 point of damage thanks to my Blaster."

PainK turn to the Blast that fired another electric shock straight at him.

Heather: 730

PaniK: 1900

"He might look impressive, but perhaps you forgotten that my King is stronger than both of your monsters," he said smugly.

"It would seem as if PainK is unaware of Heather's monster's abilities," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"I think is about to find out," Hiccup smirked.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, PainK but both my monsters have special abilities," said Heather smugly. PainK smug look vanished into that of fear. "Firstly, Machine Queen gains 100 points for every Machine on our field in the Graveyard." PainK watched as Machine Queen gains power. (ATK: 2400-2800) "Second, my Perfect Machine King gained 500 points for every Machine on the field." PainK watched horrified as Perfect Machine King gained a jumble boost in power. (ATK: 2700-3700)

"3700 Attack points!" he gasped.

"What's the matter PainK having a _panic_ attack?" Heather smirked.

"No, I can't go back," PainK begged.

"Look who's afraid now," said Gobber.

"Perfect Machine King attack his King with Missile Barrage!" Heather ordered.

The slot on Perfect Machine King's shoulders opened up and hundreds of missiles launched into the air and slammed into PainK's King knocking him backwards.

Heather: 730

PaniK: 1190

PaniK looked up fearfully, because he knew there was no way he could win now.

"Machine Queen attack him directly with Royal Electronic Beam!"

Machine Queen fired a powerful beam straight towards PainK that knocked him back a good distance away.

Heather: 730 (Winner)

PaniK: 0

PainK looked up and suddenly saw shadows appearing all over his body.

"No! No! No! Not again! Anything but that!" he cried.

But no matter how much she yelled and begged the shadows didn't stop and soon all that was left of him was his belt buckle.

"Well, that's one less Shadow Rider to deal with," said Ragnar.

Heather picked up the belt buckle. "We're suddenly getting close to ending this nightmare."

* * *

They slowly began making their way back to their respected dorms, but Heather hanged with Ragnar bit longer.

"So, any more thoughts about tricking our two lovebirds?" Ragnar asked.

"No, but hopefully they'll admit their feelings soon," Heather said hopefully.

"Why?"

"Because anyone who is tricked Astrid ends up mostly in the hospital."

Ragnar couldn't help but nod in agreement.

* * *

Machine Solider

ATK: 1200/ DEF: 900

3 stars

EARTH

Machine/ Effect

This card can attack your opponent directly. When this card is destroyed as a result of battle you can summon one monster with "Machine" in its name with less than 1000 attack points to the field.

Machine Defender

ATK: 100/ DEF: 2000

This card gains 100 defence points for every Machine Type monster on the field

Dark Stalker

ATK: 1640/ DEF: 1790

4 stars

DARK

Fiend/ Normal

Demon Knight

ATK: 1790/ DEF: 1830

4 stars

DARK

Fiend/ Normal

King of Dark Illusions

ATK: 2990/ DEF: 3210

8 stars

DARK

Fiend/ Ritual / Effect

This card cannot be normal summon or set. This card can only be special summoned through the effect of Dark Summoning. Once per turn you can switch the battle positions of one of your opponents monsters, if facedown negate the effect.

Machine Palace

Field Spell Card

You can special summon one with "Machine" in its name from your hand by removing from play Machine Type monsters, whose combined levels equal or more than the select monster. When a Machine Type is destroyed, either by battle or card effect, move one Machine Type monster from your deck to your hand as long as it attack points are less than the one that was just destroyed.

Card image: a metal castle surrounding a scrapyard.

Dark Summoning

Ritual Spell Card

This card is used to Ritual Summon "King of Dark Illusions". You must also tribute monsters from your hands or field whose level equal 8 or more.

Card image: a dark demonic-looking altar.

Shroud of the Castle of Dark Illusions

Field Spell Card

So long as you have a Dark Attribute monster face-up on your field your opponent cannot attack any of your monsters. All Dark Attribute monster face-up gain 500 attack points.

Card image: Castle of Dark Illusions surrounded in shadows.


	42. A Reason to Win

Thick storm clouds hovered above Duel Academy, keeping the sunlight from poking through anywhere. Most of the students stayed in their dorms, not wanting to risk braving the storm... but one of them in particular stayed at the bedside of Agnar.

Astrid sat at the bedside, watching Agnar rest. Astrid looked at her brother. ' _Only three Shadow Riders left, and victory finally seems near. But, it'd be so much more if Agnar were actually here with me… like back when we were little. His body and his mind…_ '

* * *

"Astrid… Astrid…"

Astrid looked up from her Duel Monsters deck to see Agnar peeking around the large tree she was sitting in front of. He was wearing a school uniform, same as her with her uniform.

"Agnar!"

Agnar smiled as he walked up to his baby sister. "Watcha doing?"

He reached out and took the cards she was looking at, then whistled at what he saw. "Wow…some tough cards. But, duelling's about more than power…"

"What?" Astrid looked away sheepishly, "What do you mean bro?"

Agnar reached over and plucked the leaf out of his sister's hair. "What I mean is that you gotta have a purpose for duelling. That's what really matters in a match."

"Okay!" Astrid smiled widely. "Thanks, Agnar!"

* * *

"You miss him so dearly. But there is a way to get him back…"

Astrid's eyes snapped wide open at a dark voice then came from behind her, who leapt up and stepped protectively in front of Agnar.

"Who is that…?" she whispered

A large wisp of dark flames appeared in front of them and the voice returned.

"Come with me… and I'll give Agnar back all his memories. If you can defeat me in a duel that is," the voice proposed as the black flames flicked around the room. "Back where we first met… the Abandoned Dorm!"

Agnar slowly opened his eyes and he watched in horror as a large being in a black coat appeared, wrapping both of his arms around Astrid, dragging her into a dark portal.

He slowly rose, staring at the now closing portal and his vanishing family members, eyes wide.

"W-what's… going on?" he stammered as the portal sealed shut. "Who was that?"

* * *

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes, hearing something start buzzing in his ear. He blinked rapidly to try to get the sleep out when he saw it was Toothless.

' _Hiccup, we got a problem…_ ' he told him in a grave tone.

"What's going on?" he asked.

As Hiccup began to ask Toothless again what was going on, a loud knocking on his dorm room door woke the other three Slifer's up. Ragnar yawned and climbed down from his bunk, an irritated look on his already very tired face.

"All right, all right, just a second!" he snapped as the knocking continued. He walked to the door and pulled it open, only to scream at the sight of a pale, zombie face that moaned loudly.

"What the!" Ragnar shouted, backing away from the door.

Hiccup blinked while Fishlegs flinched.

"What's with you?" the smaller Slifer asked the ' _zombie_ '.

Snotlout glared at him as the Ojama Brothers hovered around his head. "Couldn't sleep because of the news I just heard," he muttered, glancing at the five monsters.

Hiccup sat up. "What's up?"

* * *

Led by the Ojamas, the five Slifers ran down the hall leading to the Academy's infirmary. As they approached the room, a flash of lightning illuminated the hallway, and revealing three dark figures ahead of them.

They skidded to a stop as Heather, Woflegs, Gobber and Spitelout came into light.

"So?" Hiccup panted. "What's up?"

"Astrid isn't around." Said Wolflegs, rubbing his eyes from sleep. Hiccup gasped in shock at hearing this. Panic and fear quickly started to escalate in his chest. "There's no sign of her… it's like she just disappeared."

"I don't understand, it's not like Astrid to up and vanish. Maybe Agnar knows where she is," Spitelout suggested.

"I hope so," Hiccup whispered as the door hissed open.

Everyone entered and was surprised to see Agnar face down on the floor.

"Agnar!"

They all rushed to Agnar's side. Hiccup turned him over and held him up a bit so he could be more comfortable.

"Dear me…" Spitelout breathed. "He doesn't look well."

"What happened, Agnar?" Hiccup asked, shaking the boy's shoulder.

Agnar groaned and opened his eyes. "It… it was him. T-Ti-Titan…"

Hiccup blinked before he gasped "Titan!?" Hearing the name of the phony Shadow Duelist that he fought added anger into his mix of emotions that he was currently feeling.

' _Titan?_ ' Spitelout gulped, looking anxious. ' _That's_ _the name of the duellist I hired to get rid of Hiccup... and I never paid him! What did I do to deserve this!_ '

* * *

Astrid blinked, coming out what felt like a trance. She looked around and found that she was in the basement underneath the Abandoned Dorm, the same room where she was held captive by the Shadow Duellist so long ago.

Astrid slowly turned and looked in front of her. The large man in a heavy coat stood directly in front of her.

"Ok, so we duel, and I get Agnar's memories back," Astrid snapped. "That's the deal!"

Titan chuckled. "That's if you win. But if I win, I get something too. You're Spirit Key and your soul to take back with me to the Shadow Realm. You see, my dear, when you and I first met up, I was a charlatan of the Shadows," he smirked, "but since I've been taken in by them, I am now the real deal!" he kicked over a duel disks towards Astrid. "A real Shadow Rider!"

"There they are!" Fishlegs cried out as he and the others entered the large room, Hiccup and Ragnar carrying Atticus on their shoulders.

"I see our adoring public is here to witness your demise… Now, let us begin!" Titan roared as he and Astrid inserted their decks, their disks whirring to life.

Hiccup glared just slightly at seeing Titan. "Hello, Titan," he spat at him.

Titan turned his attention towards the one who beat him. "When I'm done with this girl, I'm coming after you next for revenge Hiccup!"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes as he shifted the weight of Agnar's arm. "Astrid! We're all here for you, now go and beat this guy!"

"Ah… so this isn't about the check."

Snotlout looked at his father. "What check? What does a check have anything to do with this?"

"Uh… nothing, nothing."

Ragnar wasn't convinced, noticing the look in Spitelout's eyes. "Do you know this guy?"

"Doesn't ring a bell…" Spitelout stated, trying to draw attention away from himself.

Astrid glanced off to the side, straight at her brother. ' _Agnar, this is for you. I'm gonna win back your memories here and now!_ '

"LET'S DUEL!" the two duelists shouted, drawing their opening hands.

Astrid: 4000

Titan: 4000

Titan raised his hand to his custom deck holder as a card popped out. He caught it and looked at it before placing onto the field. "I summon Picador Fiend in attack mode and then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."

After a facedown card, a fiend appeared, but not one of the main Archfiends. The beast had a skeletal horse on the bottom and a bone-armoured warrior mounted on top of it. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 0)

"All right, my draw!" Astrid drew her card. "I summon Valkyrie Strategist in attack mode!"

A little red-haired armoured women appeared, her face was very calculative as if it she was trying to figure out her opponent's weak spot. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 500)

Titan laughed. "I thought we were duelling, not playing dollies," he mocked.

"Oh yeah?" Astrid challenged. "Well, this so called dolly is about to play havoc on your Life Points. You see by halving her attack points she is able to attack you directly."

"It's true she does have me outmatched, you'll beat my monster easily," he admitted, but a small smirk appeared on his face. ' _That is, if I didn't have a facedown that'll activate as soon as she attacks and destroy that Valkyrie Strategist!_ '

Astrid looked at him for a few moments and frowned a little. ' _Something's not right... but what?_ ' She thought as her eyes scanned his field. They widened as they landed on the card he had just played. ' _His face down!_ '

She held up a Spell card with the image of a Valkyrie holding a bow and arrow. "I play Valkyrie Arrow! It gives my Valkyrie the ability to destroying one Spell or Trap card on the field," she explained as her Valkyrie Strategist grabbed a bow and arrow and fired the arrow piercing Titan's facedown card, destroying it.

"Now, Valkyrie Strategist, take the lead in this fight and in this duel, too! Because by halving your attack point you're allowed to attack him directly!"

(ATK: 1200-600) This was proven by Valkyrie strategist ran past Titan's monster and roundhouse kicked him in the jaw, knocking him to his knees. Titan snarled as he looked up at Astrid and glared at her.

Astrid: 4000

Titan: 3400

"Next, I'll play a card facedown and end my turn," Astrid finished, slipping a card into a slot.

"Hey, Astrid's winning," said Fishlegs.

"It's true, so far her resolve to win for Agnar has proven stronger than Titan's shadow creatures," said Wolflegs.

Titan drew his next card. "Well, we'll just see about that. Now, Picador Fiend, attack Valkyrie Strategist!" he ordered.

"Sorry!" Astrid's facedown card revealed itself as the strange monster attacked. "Go, Doble Passe! Now, I take the attack!" she cried out before the green light diverted away from Valkyrie Strategist and cut through her own chest, making her fall back, wincing in pain.

Astrid: 2400

Titan: 3400

She then came back to her feet, glaring at Titan. "Wonder why I did it? So even though I took damage, so will you! Valkyrie strategist, attack him directly! Maiden Kick!"

"What the?" Titan watched as Valkyrie Strategist spun around and around once more before getting kicked in the jaw again.

Astrid: 2400

Titan: 2200

' _Okay, so far so good. I just need to give him some more of those combo attacks…_ 'Astrid thought, but it was broken when she heard Titan laugh.

"Now what?" she snapped, hearing the laugh.

Titan shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just remembering of the first time we met. My, how the tables have turned…"

"Yeah, you got that right," she glared at him, "Now, I'm not just some victim that got kidnapped and stuffed inside a coffin. Now, I can fight back, and I even have backup at the ready…" She glanced at her friends.

Titan smirked again. "No dear. I mean, before, you were the bait used to lure my prey to me, but now you're the one who's my quarry… my target! So, I shall treat you as such," he plucked a card from his hand. "I now play Ritual of the Matador! And I sacrifice the Level 6 Summoned Skull from my hand, in order to summon Matador Fiend!"

An orange blob of slime appeared on Titan's field and as soon as he tossed the Summoned Skull, the blob took shape, into a humanoid being with leathery, orange wing flaps under its blackened arms. (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)

Astrid stared at it, a frown on her face. "A monster with zero attack and defence points? Something tells me there's more to him than meets the eye…" she mused.

"Oh, there is!" Titan nodded. "So keep a sharp lookout… though, that would be difficult after I play this," he slid a card into his end tray, "difficult for you that is, but not for me." he murmured as his mask glowed brightly. "First I play one card facedown and then I activate Dark Arena!"

At those words, the field was quickly and completely covered in a thick veil of darkness and shadows.

"I can't see the field!" Astrid cried, looking from side to side.

Astrid reluctantly turned back to her opponent's field, only to see it was completely hidden. She frowned, ' _How can I fight what I can't see? I can't make out his monsters at all!_ '

"Your move…" Titan laughed coldly, enjoying the new field.

* * *

"What happened?" said Wolflegs as he and the others tried to see through the veil.

"I can't see anything," said Fishlegs.

"Someone should go in there," Spitelout suggested.

"Nah, places it has thick as peace soup," said Gobber.

Everybody rolled their eyes at his cowardness.

Agnar kept his eyes focused on the dark field card ahead, hoping that a glimpse of his family would be seen. He couldn't see anything.

"You duelled this guy before, right Hiccup?" Woflegs asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, but when I did, he was a complete sham…" he felt vibrations over his chest, looking down to see that his medallion was glowing.

"Yeah, he was never this powerful," said Ragnar.

Spitelout nodded. "Precisely. A sham indeed… I don't know why I even hired him…"

Everyone turned to him, eyebrows raised.

"Uh… never mind," Spitelout waved his hands hastily. "Forget I said anything."

* * *

' _With Dark Arena out, I can't see anything. Not even the monsters Titan has out_ ,' Astrid thought as she peered through the shadows, hearing Titan's cold laughter from the other side.

"The darkness is fitting for a Shadow Duel, don't you think?" the Shadow Rider asked casually, "But still, allow me to shed some light on the situation. Here, in the Dark Arena, your monsters in attack mode must attack, but, seeing as neither your monsters can see, I'm allowed to choose for them!"

"Well, then that's a case of the blind leading the blind. Just because our monsters can't see, doesn't mean we can't win!" She drew her card. "And now I play Polymerization to fuse my Valkyrie Recruit and Valkyrie Swordswoman to form my Valkyrie Swordmaster!"

The two fusion material monsters appeared on the field before swirling together to form Astrid's' icon monster. (ATK: 2200/DEF: 1200)

Titan chuckled. "And what is she going to do?"

"She'll kick your butt, because it won't matter who I attack. My monster is the strongest monster on the field and she can take down any target!" Astrid pointed ahead of her. "Now, go Valkyrie Swordmaster! Twin Silver Sword Slash!"

Titan smirked. "Matador Fiend, meet her on the field!" he ordered.

The Fusion monster and the Ritual monster hit each other head on, but as Swordmaster's sword connected with the Matador, the opposing monster fired off a beam of green energy, sending Swordmaster back across the field before blowing her away.

Astrid watched, amazed. "What's going on? Swordmaster has way more attack points than Matador Fiend, she should've won this! What's going on!" she yelled.

"Oh, sorry, didn't you know?" Titan taunted. "Matador Fiend cannot be destroyed in battle, and he cannot take damage. Although… the monster that battles him, is destroyed!"

Astrid growled. "No way."

"There's more. Just like I said before, every monster in attack mode here must now battle each other."

"I don't think so," said Astrid, "Valkyrie Strategist special ability allows her to attack you directly. So, your Picador Fiend will have to pick a fight with someone else."

"Not when I activate my facedown card, go Fiend Cataclysm!" Titan yelled at his Trap Card revealed itself. It had a picture of a woman falling down into a dark pit with some sort of shadowy figure trying to grab her. "Thanks to this Trap Card it negates your Strategist special ability and without the ability she is easy pickings for my Picador Fiend. This will be her last fight!"

Strategist soon found herself charging straight towards Picador Fiend, but was blasted with a green light destroying her.

"Strategist!" Astrid yelled before the green beam hit her in the chest.

Astrid: 2000

Titan: 2200

Astrid fell to her knees and groaned in pain clutching her chest. "So this is what a Shadow Game feels like."

* * *

Outside the vale they saw some sort of dark lightning spiking around it and Hiccup could feel his medallion getting hotter.

"I hope Astrid is all right," he said.

* * *

Titan smirked at Astrid. "Don't worry, Astrid. At least your brother won't remember that you failed him!"

Astrid glared as she got back onto her feet. "I'm not going to fail him. I play Valkyrie Shield Maiden in defence mode!"

A new woman, with long blonde hair and a massive shield appeared on the field. (ATK: 500/DEF: 1900)

"Gimme your best shot!" she challenged.

Titan chuckled. "My dear, if you even knew what my best was, I doubt you would be so eager to ask for it."

"Oh, really?"

"Haven't you realized yet that I'm not the same duellist that you met before? I changed when the Shadows took me in…"

Blobs and blobs swarmed around Titan's body as he sank into the dark abyss. He reached out his arm, hoping for a way to get free as the blobs chewed at various parts of his body.

"Help me! Someone help me, please!" he screamed in agony. "I'll do anything! Just please, help me!"

"You'll do anything…?" a voice from above asked him. "So be it. I shall spare you the agony of the Shadows, and you will be my devoted servant. You will do my bidding."

"All right! Very well, I'll do anything!" Titan shouted. "Just tell me what I have to do!"

A figure appeared before him, hunched over and covered in some sort of cloth. "You will defeat those who guard the Sacred Beast Cards, and this Shadow Charm will help you do it," he ordered as a mask, much like his own, save for a golden eye symbol on the forehead came down onto Titan.

Titan laughed as thick veins appeared on both his face and mask, altering his appearance to a more disturbing level. It didn't stop there; veins appeared on his fingers, arms and everything else that could be seen.

"So… you see, Astrid, I'm more powerful than ever!"

"And uglier," Astrid muttered. "But I got news for you. True duelling power doesn't come from some Shadow Charm. It comes from the reason why you duel!"

Titan scoffed. "Reason to duel? Where did you get that from? Surely not from your ' _beloved_ ' brother, after all, the reason he became a Shadow Rider was to gain power!"

"You liar! Atticus would never do anything like that!"

"I'm sorry, but it's fact! But if you don't believe me, just wait!" Titan drew his card. "After all what I banish you to the Shadows you'll see what I mean… and you'll see soon! Because the Picador Fiend now attacks you directly!"

Picador Fiend charged past Astrid's monster and to her, knocking her on her knee.

Astrid: 400

Titan: 2200

* * *

Outside the veil they saw the dark lightning passing through the veil. Agnar could sense Astrid was in trouble and reaches his hand out in order to touch the veil, but Hiccup pulled him back.

"I know it's tough, Agnar," said Hiccup in a concerned voice. "We just have to hope she's okay."

* * *

Inside Astrid fell to her knees feeling even weaker than before.

Titan laughed. "The end is near. The shadows beckon," he said evilly. "You squirm, but they still close in. It is simply a matter of time now."

' _Tell me about it. With Valkyrie Shield Maiden's special ability, I can retrieve one Valkyrie from my deck and place it in my hand…_ ' Astrid thought. ' _With the right monster I can easily win this duel, I just have to survive this turn._ '

"Whatever are you plotting about over their?" Titan asked her. "Let me guess, something to do with Valkyrie Shield Maiden? Well don't bother, because she won't be around for long, for I summon Banderillero Fiend!"

A bat like demon appeared on the field. (ATK: 900/DEF: 1600)

"And his special ability destroys your Valkyrie Shield Maiden!"

Astrid watched in horror as Shield Maiden turned into hundreds of pixels leaving her with nothing.

Titan smirked at her and her predicament. "Get up... or are your reasons for duelling not good enough?" he mocked.

' _Maybe he's right…_ ' Astrid winced, trying to keep her eyes open. ' _Maybe they're not enough. Because as much as I wanna win this… I simply don't have the strength for it. It's over… my Key, my brother, my soul… I've… lost them all_.' With that, Astrid fell over all the way, facedown on the floor.

Titan chuckled. "That's right, stay down! There's no point in fighting, you can't win! After all, the reasons you fight aren't nearly as strong as the Shadows themselves."

Astrid moaned, knowing that what Titan was saying was true. She should give up… there was no way she could save herself, or her brother.

"Astrid!"

Astrid opened her eyes at the voice of Agnar. From outside, he was calling out to her.

"Astrid, you can do this!" Agnar Atticus urged. "C'mon!"

"Yeah, you can beat this guy!" She heard Hiccup urge alongside her brother.

Pretty soon everyone else was giving their own two cents in as they all shouted encouragement to her.

Astrid pulled herself to her feet. "Can't give up…"

"What's this?" Titan roared, stunned to see Astrid climb back to her feet, a look of determination on her face.

"This is my turn!" Astrid snapped. "And I activate Pot of Greed, so now I can draw two new cards!" She drew her two cards.

"And with one of them I can call back an old one. I play the Warrior Returning Alive to bring back Valkyrie Strategist to my hand. Then I'll activate the spell card Fusion Recovery it allows me to bring back Polymerization and Valkyrie Swordswoman from my graveyard."

"What?" Titan gasped as Astrid retrieved her cards.

"Now I fuse them again to create my Valkyrie Battle Strategist!" Astrid announced.

Then suddenly appearing on the field was a woman with golden blonde hair and a silver sword strapped to her thigh. The look in her eyes showed a deep calculative look that showed the brilliant mind she had. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1900)

"With this new Valkyrie it's over! Your Shadow Powers have failed you, and you've lost this duel!"

Titan smirked at her words. "You're delirious. I have three monsters out on the field and you are still in the dark!"

"Yeah, maybe, but not for long…" Astrid smiled confidently. "Because my Battle Strategist's about to light up your world!"

"You lie!"

"Wrong! You thanks to her special ability, Divine Light Since! You see once per turn she can cancels any and all face up effects that you have out!" she explained as Battle Strategist glowed a bright light, causing the Dark Arena to disappear.

Titan looked around in horror. "No! You destroyed my Dark Arena!"

"Hey, look! The shadows are disappearing," said Hiccup as the veil dissolved.

"And Astrid is okay!" Ragnar added.

"And there's more!" Astrid said to Titan. "Matador Fiend's ability to reduce Battle Damage to zero is negated!"

"NO!"

"So go, Battle Strategist!" she pointed to Matador Fiend. "All Seeing Spiral Sword!"

Titan roared as his monster, and himself were struck and fast by the Battle Strategist's sword. He flew back and landed onto his back, feeling the power of the attack finish off his points.

Astrid: 400 (Winner)

Titan: 0

Titan looked up and saw a huge mass of black blobs coming towards him.

"No, no, no! Not again!" he batted them away, but it only resulted in more and more covering his body bit by bit.

All anyone could do was watch Titan become engulfed by the blobs and disappear into nothingness, leaving only his Shadow Charm mask on the stone floor.

* * *

The sun rose into the air as the large group exited the Abandoned Dorm.

Everyone else watched as the two Hoffersons exchanged heart-filled looks and hugged each other tightly, despite the condition they were in.

"Agnar, I still don't understand something…"

Everyone looked up at the Hofferson siblings that were pulling away from each other, a confused look on Astrid's' face.

"How did you end up in the Shadow Realm?" she asked her brother. "Titan said you did it for power."

Agnar shook his head. "Believe me, I never wanted that. I was told to come here for duelling tests. Then… well, it happened. That test was supposed to be in the basement, but instead, I found hundreds of those Shadow Fiend monsters that took Titan away. I was captured and taken in the Shadow Realm where they brainwashed me for months and months until I became this… this thing called Nightshroud and recruited me into their gang of Shadow Riders."

"But who?" Astrid leaned in a bit. "Who was it that brainwashed you?"

Agnar shook his head again. "Never did find out… however, the person that called me to come here and take the duel test…" he took a deep breath before answering.

"It… it was Professor Banner…"

Everyone gasped and stared in silence at what Agnar had just said to them all.

' _Our Professor Banner?_ ' Hiccup looked up at the sky in thought. ' _So he's in on it?_ '

* * *

Valkyrie Strategist

ATK: 1200/ DEF: 900

3 stars

LIGHT

Warrior/Effect

During your Battle Phase you can half this cards attack points to attack your opponent directly.

Valkyrie Shield Maiden

ATK: 500 / DEF: 1900

4 stars

LIGHT

Warrior/Effect

During Standby Phase add one you can add one monster with "Valkyrie" in its name to your hand.

Valkyrie Battle Strategist

ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1900

7 stars

LIGHT

Warrior/Fusion/Effect

Valkyrie Swordswoman + Valkyrie Strategist

This card cannot be Special Summoned, except by Fusion Summer. Once per turn, you can negate all face up effects on your opponent's side of the field. If this effect was activated this monster is switched to Defence mode until the end of your next turn.

Valkyrie Arrow

Spell Card

Activated only if you have a monster with "Valkyrie" in its name and destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field.

Card image: a Valkyrie holding a bowling and arrow.

Fiend Cataclysm

Trap Card

Force one monster on your opponent's side of field to attack a monster on your side.

Card image: a woman falling into an abyss with a shadowy figure grasping its claws at her.


	43. Duel Monsters Spirit Day

Somewhere around the main Duel Academy, a lighthearted giggle was heard from a floating, yellow spirit light. It was floating around the rest of the island where booths and activities were set up and many of the Academy Students were enjoying themselves.

"Ah, my most favourite day of the year," The spirit said, full of joy. "The Duel Monster Spirit Day; the one chance, all year for me to come out and play! And I'm not gonna let it waste!"

* * *

At the Slifer Dorm, Fishlegs was pushing a cart around, spreading some white outlines on the ground.

"Okay, the duel field has to be 20 feet long, and 10 feet across!" he said, as he continued his work. But, before he was able to finish…

"AHHHH!"

He crashed into Hiccup, who was in the middle of the ground, and popped out covered in chalk.

"Hiccup, you're in the middle of my duel arena!"

"Sorry, but I had to get some room for the posters," Hiccup said.

"What posters?"

"Duh, the poster promoting the costume duels!" Hiccup exclaimed.

He moved back so Fishlegs could see better. Hiccup's poster had Dragon Knight Toothless battling Dragon Knight Hookfang.

"Great stuff, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, not bad!" Fishlegs praised. "But, if you want to draw in the big crowds, make big glam shot of the Dark Magician Girl!"

"Any particular reason?" Hiccup asked.

"Because she should get the whole poster!" Fishlegs yelled.

"But what about Toothless and Hookfang?"

"They're not even real!"

"Neither is the Dark Magician Girl," Hiccup countered.

"Take that back! Of course she's real!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes but didn't respond further.

"Now let's get back to work on the costume duels…" But while Fishlegs was dragging the chalk powder into the cart, it caused a giant smoke cloud.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup shouted.

"Sorry!"

Among the cloud, the same glowing spirit appeared.

"A costume duel?" It said. "That's perfect!"

"Listen, I'll sort out the poster later, but right now I got a bit of a meeting with the others," siad Hiccup.

* * *

Moments later he met up with, Ragnar, Astrid, Speedfist, Heather, Wolflegs and Agnar were hanging around the Slifer dorm thinking about what latter said yesterday at the abandoned dorm.

"So Professor Banner's missing, too…" said Hiccup. "That's can't be a coincidence."

"Yeah, he just happens to disappear right after Agnar told us what happened?" Astrid added.

"I wish it wasn't true, but it is…" Agnar muttered.

"Yes, he led you to the Abandoned Dorm," Speedfist told him. "Straight into the Shadow Realm."

"But we need to know why he did it…" said Wolflegs.

"What if he's working for the Shadow Riders?" Heather added.

"It could be a possibility," said Ragnar rubbing the back of his head. "There's still one left."

"Well, I got a question…" Hiccup pointed forward. "What's Snotlout doing?"

Everyone looked to Hiccup's direction seeing Snotlout walking around with a cat toy, making strange kissing noises.

"Yoo-hoo…" He grunted, looking around. "Come on, where are you?"

"Where's what?" Hiccup asked.

"His mind, Hic," Speedfist cracked. "Clearly he's lost it…"

Snotout growled. "I'm looking for Banner's cat; if we find him, we find Banner, duh!" He explained as he resumed his weird hunt for Pharaoh.

Fishlegs came over soon after that.

"Snotlout lost his mind again guys?" Fishlegs asked.

Snotlout glared. "I hate you all…"

* * *

Everyone gathered around the posters advertising the Duel event, adding to Hiccup's original poster, another had the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl posing in with duel disks.

"Hey these are great posters!" Heather exclaimed.

Astrid just stared at Hiccup. "I didn't know you one artist."

Hiccup shrugged. "Hey, when your mother is a card designer you pick up a few things."

"Yeah, besides the Dark Magician being in it, Hiccup did a good job," Fishlegs stated.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "There's always a critic."

"So, costume duel huh?" Agnar asked.

"Looks like it since everyone's dressing up," said Ragnar. "I think that's an awesome idea!"

"But who's dressing as Dark Magician Girl?" Woflegs asked.

"You do have someone, don't you?" Speedfist asked.

"Uh… no…" said Fishlegs. "But no one will mind, I'm just having her picture for advertising."

"False advertising…" Speedfist added.

"Oh… I didn't think of that. Guess I need to find someone to play the part then…" He then turned and looked at Astrid. "Like Astrid."

"Yes, a fine idea," said Speedfist.

"Great idea," said Hiccup.

"So, Astrid… will you do it?" Fishlegs asked pleadingly.

"Sorry, I already have a costume picked out, too," she replied, Hiccup couldn't help but notice that she was looking at him with a longing look at him.

"Okay, what about Heather?" Hiccup suggested.

"Sorry, but I got a costume to," said Heather apologetically.

"What am I going to do? My costumed duel is going to be a bust," Fishlegs groaned.

* * *

At the bottom of the Slifer Dorm, Fishlegs was still sulking over his duel and Snotlout was probably still off somewhere searching for Banner's cat.

"WHAT THE—!"

Inside the Slifer dorm however, Hiccup was staring dumbfounded at Astrid, who was wearing a Dragon Knight Stormfly costume.

"Do you like?" Astrid smiled seductively.

Hiccup was unable to speak and Ragnar, who was dressed as King's Knight had a close Hiccup's mouth. "I think he likes."

"Do you like me?" said Heather's voice.

Ragnar looked up at his jaw dropped. Heather was standing there in a Queen's Knight costume.

"I think he does," Astrid giggled. She then looked at Hiccup, who managed to regain the use of his mouth. "What costume you're wearing, Hiccup?"

"I'll show you, I'll be back just a minute," said Hiccup and walked outside.

"I wonder what he's going as?" Ragnar asked curiously.

"You mean you don't know," said Heather.

Ragnar shook his head.

Suddenly, they heard some clacking going on outside.

"What's outside?" Ragnar asked.

As everyone walked out, they saw Snotlout in one of the strangest costumes ever.

"Snotlout dressed up as XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" Ragnar said.

"Now, this is a real costume!" Snotlout stated.

"The best one I've seen." Astrid complimented him.

"Totally!" Heather agreed.

The black coat Slifer took a look at Astrid's Stormfly costume and Heather's Queen's Kinght costume. "Is that Astrid and Heather?" He then developed a slight blush. ' _My big weakness! Blonde hair and sexy armour!_ '

"Since when does an XYZ-Dragon Cannon blush?" Fishlehgs asked.

"Shut up!" Snotlout retorted defensively, much to the group's amusement.

"Not bad, Snotlout, what do you guys think of my costume," said Hiccup's voice.

They all turned and stared as Hiccup walk down the steps dressed up as Dragon Knight Toothless.

"Whoa," said Astrid.

"Nice costume," said Ragnar.

"It's amazing what you can do with a bit of metal and some paint," Hiccup shrugged.

"Well, me and Heather are going on a date so will see you guys later," said Ragnar.

They watched as Ragnar and Heather walked away.

"All right, let's get down to business and get this costume duel," said Snotlout as he struggled to walk to the arena. "Who is it gonna be?" When no one answered he looked at the crowd. "All right, Hiccup since no one volunteered I'm going to volunteer for you. You're duelling."

"That's fine with me, but who's going to be my opponent?" said Hiccup.

"Well, it's not me," said Snotlout. "I can't duel in this costume. I can barely walk."

"Maybe you should afford ahead," Astrid muttered rolling her eyes.

"Okay, Fishlegs?"

"Syrus?"

"Sorry, but I'm on commentary with Snotlout."

"Astrid?"

Before she could answer, a flash caught their eyes as they all turned around to see Agnar standing there with a camera.

"What're you doing?" Astrid almost growled.

Agnar grinned. "Just big brother stuff… like taking embarrassing photos of you… that I can show Mom and Dad later."

"I don't think so!" She seethed.

"Oh yeah. And Uncle Finn, Aunt Helga, and Cousin Sigurd."

Everyone then saw Astrid start to chase Agnar around the area, waving her claws around to try and snatch the camera from him.

"Then, I guess I'm not dueling…" Hiccup sighed.

"Nuh-uh! I'll duel you."

Everyone turned to the sound of the cheerful, feminine voice and gasped at who it was…

"Dark Magician Girl!?"

"Hi!"

"Now that outfit looks better!" Syrus exclaimed.

Pretty soon, the male spectators waiting on the costume duels were basically drooling over the sight of the mystery girl.

"So can I?"

"Duel? Of course!" Snotlout stated. "As organizer of this event, I approve!"

"But Legs, organised it…" Hiccup protested.

"So what? The answer's still yes!" Fislhegs said, as he turned to the Dark Magician Girl. "If that's okay with you."

"Aw you're cute, of course it's okay."

The crowd was cheering again.

After that was resolved, Fishlegs took a stand up on the field.

"Not a bad turn out," said Spitelout as he walked up with Speedfist, who was dressed up as Amazoness Tiger, Gobber and Woflegs.

"Fishlegs' done a first-rate job," Gobber nodded.

"I wonder who's duelling," said Spitelout.

"It looks like Jaden and what appears to be the Dark Magician Girl," Speedfist stated.

"Please, don't be ridiculous!" The Obelisk Headmaster stated. He starts when he saw the Dark Magician Girl inserting her deck into her duel disk. "OH! The Dark Magician Girl! I saw her first!"

"Hey Syrus, where are you!?" Snotlout asked into the mic.

Fishlegs was staring right at Hiccup's opponent with tears of happiness running down his eyes.

"Okay, just be cool… I mean, this is your chance. You gotta let her know you're interested but not desperate…"

"HEY Fishlegs! GET OVER HERE AND STOP STARING AT DARK MAGICIAN GIRL!" Snotlout shouted as the large Slifer ran back to the commentator section.

"Be quiet!" Fishlegs whispered as he got in the section and took the mic. "Okay, introducing today's main event!"

"Hello, it's our only event…"

"Oh, yeah, that's way better," Fishlegs said. "Today's one and only event the duel monster costume duel!"

The crowd cheered.

"Hosting will be Snotlout Jorgenson!"

"Hi!" Snotlout waved.

"And myself, Fishlegs Ingerman."

"Just get on with the duel you bozos!" someone yelled.

Snotlout grunted.

"Fair enough," said Fishlegs quickly. "Oh, look the duellist had just entered the arena."

"What do you mean?" said Snotlout. "They've been there for ten minutes now."

Fishlegs ignored him. "On the right, dressed up as his Dragon Knight Toothless, give it up for Hiccup Haddock."

Hiccup gave a wave to the audience, although none of the spectators so much as clapped for him.

He blinked. "Tough crowd."

"Look at the crowd is being pretty tough on Hiccup," said Ragnar as he and Heather returned.

Heather then saw his opponent. "Wait, isn't that the Dark Magician Girl?"

"Yeah, we were pretty stunned ourselves," said Speedfist.

"On my left, I'm thrilled to introduce the Dark Magician Girl! Isn't she just the cutest!?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yeah… real professional…" Snotlout muttered.

"Oh you were thinking it, too…" Fishlegs countered.

"Hi guys!" The DMG cosplayer introduced herself. "Hope you cheer me on!"

The whole crowd, including Fishlegs, was cheering for her in admiration, while Snotlout covered his ears.

"You know, we're supposed to be neutral in this!" He argued to his partner.

"Oh sorry," Fishlegs sheepishly stated. "Now gentleman and lady, start your duel disks!"

Both players turned on their duel disks.

"Well, good luck!" Hiccup said to his opponent.

"Hey thanks, you too!" DMG replied.

Hiccup and the Dark Magician Girl cosplayer drew their opening hands as their life points went up to full.

Hiccup: 4000

DMG: 4000

"All right, here goes!" DMG drew her sixth card. "I think I'll place one monster facedown, and end my turn." she giggled, dancing in her spot.

Hiccup watched and sweat dropped as all the male spectators cheered her on. "So much for home field advantage," he muttered as he drew his card. "I summon Dragon Knight Scaldy in attack mode!"

The aqua knight appeared. (ATK: 800/DEF: 1000)

Fishlehgs watched as Hiccup's Knight came to the field. "Wow, and you know what that means, right Snotlout?" he asked, turning to his fellow commentator. "You do, right? Because I don't."

"It means, Fishlegs, that Hiccup can draw two more cards from his deck," Snotlout explained into the microphone, eyes not leaving the duel field. "Since he only has his hero on the field when summoned"

"That's right, thanks to Scaldy's special ability!" Hiccup drew his cards. "And now from my hand, I'll play Polymerization to fuse my Dragon Knight Hookfang with my Dragon Knight Scaldy to create the Dragon Knight Hearler!"

Both the fire and water knight combine and became a large new Knight with a huge, muscular body with red and dark blue armour and smooth and gentle hands. (ATK: 1900/DEF: 1400)

"Wow, he looks tough," Fishlegs commented, looking at the new Knight.

Snotlout shrugged as best he could in his cosplay outfit, "Guess we'll see."

"Now Healer, attack that facedown!" Hiccup ordered, pointing to the target in mind.

As Healer hovered towards the card, it flipped over to reveal a young blonde girl in black robes with a matching hat. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1500)

"Hey, check out Dark Magician Girl's monster! It's Fire Sorcerer!"

Snotlout smiled and nodded at Fishlegs' observation. "This should be interesting…"

"All right, here goes!" The Dark Magician Girl duellist smiled widely. "I play Fire Sorcerer's special ability! Do your thing, Sweetie!" she cooed as Fire Sorcerer glowed with a purple light.

"Her thing! She's gonna do her thing!" Fishlegs cheered, and then turned to Snotlout. "What exactly is her thing?"

"Her thing, removes two of Dark Magician Girl's cards from the game, and then Legs, she deals 800 points of damage to Hiccup," he explained.

The Dark Magician Girl cosplayer held up two cards from her hand and hid them away. "Now, Fire Sorcerer, blast him!"

Hiccup watched as Fire Sorcerer created a fireball in her hand and launched it straight at him, hitting him hard.

Hiccup: 3200

DMG: 4000

"Well, I'm not the only one gettin' burned," Hiccup cried as his monster enveloped Fire Sorcerer in steam, blasting her to bits. "I play Healer's effect!"

Fishlegs' eyes went a little wide. "Wow… that's one cool special effect!"

Snotlout nodded. "It lets Hiccup there gain Life Points equal to the attack points of the monster that he destroyed."

Healer began to heal Hiccup with a good dose of steam.

Hiccup: 4200

DMG: 4000

Boos and angry shouts made Hiccup cringe a little as the spectators heckled him for the attack on the cute girl and her monsters.

"Wow… looks like those guys are made at Hiccup for… fighting back?" Fishlegs said slowly, looking at the crowd.

"What would they have him do, give up?" said Speedfist.

Spitelout nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Woflegs crossed his arms, looking a bit flabbergasted. "She's playing the crowd better than Hiccup's playing his deck."

"Boys," Heather muttered.

"They are certainly getting wild," Gobber agreed.

"If this gets much worse Hiccup might have to lose on purpose," said Ragnar.

"My turn! Wish me luck guys, here goes!" Dark Magician Girl said happily, drawing her card. The entire crowd cheered much to Hiccup's dismay. "I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode!" she declared.

A young woman in a similar outfit and head-dress appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800)

"Oh, good move!" Fishlegs praised. "As long as that's on the field, Hiccup won't be able to attack any other Spellcaster-Type monsters on the field!"

"How about letting me have a word in?!" Snotlout snapped, pushing Fishlegs away.

Fishlegs grinned slyly. "How about next time?"

"Now, I activate Dimension Fusion!" Dark Magician held up a card. "By paying 2000 Life Points, we both can summon back monsters that were removed from the game back to the field! No need to thank me, it's my pleasure!"

Hiccup: 4200

DMG: 2000

"Not just yours, but I bet those two monsters you removed are thrilled, too!" Fishlegs added, earning a glare from Snotlout.

Dark Magician Girl smiled. "That's right! Because now they get to come back!" she said as a second Valkyria and, surprisingly, a Dark Magician Girl joined her other Valkyria on the field in defence mode as well. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1700) (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800)

Spitelout clapped with the other spectators. "She's playing the card she's pretending to be!"

Speedfist frowned. "Yes… curious, though. It was my understanding that only the King of Games, Yugi the Undefeated, had a Dark Magician Girl…"

Woflegs nodded. "Mine too. Just who is this girl?"

"I've got no idea, but there's something about that seems off," said Ragnar.

"You mean apart from the way that every guy is fawning over her?" Heather asked.

"I agree with Ragnar there's something different about that girl," said Gobber.

"Here it comes," said Fishlegs. "On three, okay. One, two, three!"

"Attack! Go, Dark Magician Girl trounce that Healer with Dark Burning Attack!" Dark Magician Girl ordered.

Hiccup watches the holographic form of Dark Magician Girl blasted Healer with a powerful blast of dark magic.

Hiccup: 4100

DMG: 2000

"No more healing for him," said Hiccup.

"And there's more, next I'll attack you directly with both my Magician Valkyrias!"

"With both of them!" Fishlegs gasped.

"I don't like to play favourites, and neither do they," said Dark Magician Girl.

Then the two Magician Valkyrias blasted Hiccup with a twin burst of magic. Causing the entire crowd to cheer their lungs off.

Hiccup: 900

DMG: 2000

"Well, don't think that's going to start me, because I'm only just getting started," said Hiccup as he drew. "All right, first I activate the spell card Cost Down and thanks to this by discarding one card from my hand I can lower the levels of all my monsters in my hand by two."

Hiccup said one card from his hand to the graveyard. "And now I summon Dragon Knight Stormfly!"

Then appearing on the field was his beautiful female knight. The moment she peered on the field however the entire crowd booed, apparently they didn't want their precious Dark Magician Girl to be upstaged.

"What is he doing?" Fishlegs cried. "It's like Hiccup doesn't want her to win or something."

"You've got to be kidding me," Hiccup groaned. "Besides, in case you've forgotten I can't attack."

Fishlegs blinked. "Uh, what does he mean?"

"He means that he can't attack Dark Magician Girl still has the edge in this duel," said Snotlout.

"She does?"

"Snotlout's right, even with Stormfly's ability I'm not able to attack thanks to the Magician Valkyrias," Hiccup explained.

"Indeed, that monsters special ability is still in effect," said Wolflegs. "As long as she's out Hiccup can't attack other Spellcaster-Type monsters."

"That's right," said Speedfist. "And because there's two, the first Valkyrias protects the second and in the second Valkyrias is able to protect the first."

"The perfect shield," said Ragnar.

"Shame," said Astrid, who just reappeared. "Because if he could Stormfly would been able to annihilate all her monsters."

"But he summoned her knowing that," said Ragnar.

"Which means he has something planned," said Gobber.

"Now I activate the spell card the Shallow Grave," said Hiccup. "Thanks to this card we both can select one monster in our graveyards and summon it to the field in defence mode. And I choose Dragon Knight Toothless!"

Toothless then appeared on the field in defence position alongside Stormfly. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2200)

"Then I'll choose my Fire Sorcerer," said Dark Magician Girl as Fire Sorcerer reappeared on the field in defence mode.

"Whoa, Hiccup's just summoned the monster he's just up as, but how did he get in there" said Fishlegs.

"Simple, due to his Cost Down card he played earlier," said Snotlout.

Suddenly there were a lot of boos and hisses coming from the crowd.

"Tell me how you really feel," Hiccup muttered.

"This is certainly a change," said Toothless looking at the crowd.

"Tell me about it, bud," said Hiccup. "I now activate Romantic Night!"

Toothless then got to his feet and drew close to Stormfly and the two of them pulled together into a kiss.

"Ah, isn't that sweet," said Dark Magician Girl.

"You won't think its sweet for long, because thanks to this effect on your side of the field are automatically negated," said Hiccup.

"Awesome move," said Astrid cheerfully.

"I then suppose that card gives you any ideas?" Heather asked slyly.

Astrid blushed. "I don't know what you mean."

They turned their attention to the field as a powerful post emanated from Toothless and Stormfly.

Dark Magician Girl watched and giggled. "Oh… nice move. You got me good there."

"Got who… what-where?" Fishlegs turned to his fellow commentator, "Snotlout, care to explain how she'll get out of this?"

Snotlout smirked. "She's not going to get out of this, Fishlegs. Romantic Night negate all card effects on the opponents the field meaning that the Magician Valkyrias can no longer protect themselves making them completely helpless to Stormfly."

"But she's way stronger than them!" Fishlegs squeaked, looking at the female knight that stood ready for battle.

"DON'T DO IT! WE BEG YOU!" the crowd roared.

Hiccup gave unapologetic look. "Sorry guys, but I play to win! And now I equip Stormfly with Dragon Knight Battle Axe!" Suddenly a battleaxe appeared in Stormfly's hands. "And this card increases her attack points by 800. Plus, thanks to her ability, she can now attack all your monsters at once."

Stormfly yelled as her power increased. (ATK: 2000-2800)

"Now attack with Raging Dragon Slash!" Hiccup ordered.

Stormfly charge straight towards the Dark Magician Girl's monsters

"No!" The crowd roared again.

Dark Magician Girl turned to the sad crowd, smiling. "Don't be sad you guys! You can't win them all, right? Besides, in a way, I have won because I got to meet so many of my fans!"

She turned her attention back to the duel. "Well if I'm going down, I'm going down fighting!" She determinedly said.

Fishlegs watched as she ordered her monsters to attack, his eyes glued to the Spellcaster cosplayer.

' _Got to meet so many of her fans?_ ' Fishlegs thought and gasped. ' _Wait that means—!_ '

Stormfly fired off four attacks that took apart each and everyone of Dark Magician Girl's monsters, leaving a massive smoke cloud in its place.

Hiccup: 900 (Winner)

DMG:

As the smoke cleared, everyone noticed that the Dark Magician Girl cosplayer was on her knees, a large smile on her face.

"That was fun! Thank you, Hiccup!" She turned and waved to the fan crowd. "See you all around, everyone!"

As the crowd cheered her on, consoled her, or whatever else was left, Fishlegs smiled at the end of the duel.

"Well, everyone, that's it for now, but don't worry, we'll be back soon… right Chazz?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. "To broadcast more duels?"

"Yeah, right," Snotlout grunted.

Hiccup sat down, rubbing the back of his head, watching the fan crowd. "Man, it's not easy being a bad guy," he said.

'I didn't go mad...' the dark voice of his alter ego stated. 'I just woke up...' he revealed.

"Don't worry about that, some girls like the bad guys," said Astrid as she approached him. "Aw that's what I heard anyway!"

Heather just rolled her eyes.

Hiccup then turned his eyes on Dark Magician Girl. "I can't help but wonder though… who was that girl?"

Woflegs nodded. "You'd think we would've seen her around before."

"You'd think," Hiccup looked back at the cheery cosplayer. "Oh well… It's Duel Monsters Spirit Day, so let's party!"

His friends didn't argue with that.

* * *

'I _gotta find her! I gotta know if it was really her!_ '

Fishlegs wandered around the Slifer dorm building that night as a bonfire roared nearby. Groups of students were piled around the area while some were at the bonfire enjoying the warmth it radiated.

Hiccup meanwhile was making his way to meet up with Ragnar, who had something very important to discuss and wanted it had anything to do with Banner. However, instead of meeting up with Ragnar he found Astrid.

"Astrid? What are you doing here?" he frowned.

Astrid looked confused as well. "I could ask you the same question, Heather asked me to—"

Then they both realised what just happened.

"They tricked us," he said.

"I can't believe I didn't see that," Astrid muttered.

The two of them looked at each other awkwardly for while.

"So, any reason you chose to Stormfly for your costume?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"It—just felt right," Astrid shrugged. She then took a deep breath. "Listen I never truly thank you for saving my brother."

"Hey, that's what friends do and may I point out that the time I didn't know it was your brother," said Hiccup.

Astrid fiddled with her fingers nervously. "True, but it still because of you that I got in back and I want to make it up to you somehow."

"You don't have to do that," said Hiccup smiling slightly.

"Actually, I have the perfect way to thank you and I've been meaning to do it for while," said Astrid nervously.

"What do you—"

Hiccup was stopped when Astrid pulled him into a kiss. He felt himself melting away and can help bring his hands round her waist and she did the same with hers around his neck.

Once they pulled apart they looked at each other.

"I—don't know what to say," said Hiccup breathlessly.

"Then don't say anything," said Astrid before pulling him into another kiss.

"Well, it's about time," said a voice.

They knew who it was before they even looked and saw Ragnar and Heather standing at them smiling.

"I'm still gonna get you for tricking me," Astrid warned.

"I would have it any other way," Heather shrugged.

Then the two couples started to enjoy the party.

* * *

Back with Fishlegs, he was sitting on a stump away from everything.

' _Oh well, I guess you're gone_ ,' Fishlegslooked up at the stars in the night sky as he took a seat on an empty log, ' _I just wanted to say that you made me remember how much fun duelling can be. You made us all remember_ …'

"Thank you, Dark Magician Girl. I won't forget you."

" _I won't forget you either, Legs_ ," she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, " _and I'm sure we'll meet up again someday."_ she promised before vanishing.

Syrus' eyes popped open as he felt the kiss on his cheek. Smiling, he stood up. " _Okay, time for bed. I think I'm starting to hallucinate._ "

"I don't think so…" Fishlegs turned to see Hiccup standing with him. He was carrying two cups for both him and Astrid and only stopped when he saw Fishlegs.

" _I saw her, too, Fishlegs_ ," Hiccup smiled.

"Saw who?" Fishlegs laughed nervously. "There's nobody here you must've been seeing things!"

Hiccup shook his head and looked up to the sky to see Dark Magician Girl floating above them, smiling.

"All right, you win Syrus, there was no one here," Hiccup sighed. "But I think that 'no one' has a crush on you, Fishlegs."

Fishlegs looked at him, eyes filled with happiness. "You mean you did see her! She was real, and you know what that means?" he held up the victory sign. "I finally got my first kiss!"

Hiccup busted out laughing.

"What!? It counts!"

"Maybe, but you're not the first one who got his first kiss tonight."

Fishlegs stared at him wondering what he meant.

* * *

Dragon Knight Healer

ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1400

5 Stars

WATER

Warrior/Fusion/Effect

This card cannot be special summoned except by fusion summon. This card is treated as a Dragon-Type well face up on the field or in the Graveyard. Every time this card destroys a monster your life point increase by the attack points of the destroyed monster.


	44. Hearts are Wild

Late one night, as stars blanketed the night sky, a large, private boat sailed across the black sea, lights dotting the sides, showing occupied rooms. One room in particular, was occupied by two card players and a few lovely ladies who sat on a couch nearby. They were playing poker.

"I call…" The first player, a burly man with slicked dark hair laid his hand onto the table. His opponent, a young man with brown hair, with square glasses and wearing a white suit looked down to see all of his cards were the suit of hearts.

"Read 'em and weep," the burly man chuckled and began to pull the large pile of poker chips, "Looks like, finally, the Gambler has lost a game."

The man now identified as The Gambler smirked. "I don't think so, mon ami."

The burly man watched as his opponent tossed a bright red handkerchief onto the pile of chips, as well as his hands.

His opponent spread out his own hand to show that he had a royal flush, the higher set in this game.

"I win again, no?"

The ladies overlooking the game gasped at another victory the Gambler had achieved. Another victory added to his long list.

* * *

Sometime after his victory, the Gambler stood out on the deck, leaning on the railing, looking out at the vast sea. He was quiet, lost in his own sea of thoughts. A soft noise and the sound of footsteps made him turn slightly.

"Good game in there."

It was his opponent from the match.

The burly man walked up to his side, looking out at the sea. "I don't think I've ever seen such a fine gambler. Congratulations."

"Merci," the Gambler smiled, enjoying the taste of egotism.

"But my friend…" the burly man pointed to a large island in the distance. "If you want a true challenge, check out the island on our portside. It happens to be the most famous duelling school on the planet. Home of the very best of the best."

"Duel Academy?" The Gambler glanced at the man, smiling. "Well, au revoir."

"And just where are you going?"

"Where else?" He asked as he started walking before turning back.

A short time later, the Gambler was skipping along the waves of the dark ocean on jet skis as the ship became smaller and smaller behind them.

' _Finally, the opportunity to challenge the only person who's gotten the best of me, Duel Academy, prepare yourself for the Gambler!_ '

* * *

At a cliff over the ocean, Hiccup just sitting around and taking in the night air.

It was a nice night, but he couldn't enjoy it all that much. He was too busy thinking about everything that's happened lately mostly about Professor Banner and his disappearance.

"Hi, Hiccup," said a voice and he turned to find Astrid approaching him.

"Astrid?" Hiccup blinked.

"Ragnar said you'd be here," she said down next to him and placing her hand over his. "So, what's up?"

"I just thought it might be nice to take a breather of all this saving the world and Shadow Rider stuff that's been going on."

Astrid nodded. "Has your father found anything about Professor Banner?"

"None and that's what worries me," said Hiccup. He then saw a skipper zooming past them. "Unless that him right now."

* * *

Stoick, Spitelout and Gobber hadn't seen nothing quite like this young man in a white suit, who wanted something that they never thought anyone would ask.

Spitelout frowned at the visitors. "Would you mind repeating that?" he hissed.

The Gambler smiled, putting a hand into his pants pocket. "I want to duel your school's bon student: Astrid Hofferson…"

"And why should we agree?"

"Because," the young man reached into his jacket and pulled out a card, holding it out for Spitelout to take.

Said teacher snatched it away and raised an eyebrow at the words scrawled on the back of it. "The Gambler…? What is this?" He demanded.

"It is, I guess you can call, my calling card… and I always get what I want."

The Gambler eyed Spitelout. "So, where is she?"

Stoick cleared his throat. "Listen, my school is not a gambling parlor! I don't care who you are on the outside, but when you come here to my academy, you obey my rules. Got it?" He warned as Spitelout and Gobber nodded in agreement.

"Monsieur," the Gambler placed a hand on Stoick's desk and leaned in. "Either call them, or I swear on my honour that I will make things most uncomfortable for you and your friends."

Just then, the automatic door to the office opened up, causing the four men to look and find no one standing outside the room before the door closed on it's on.

Outside, Chazz, Syrus, and Chumley, along with some other Slifers were pressed up against the wall, eavesdropping.

"Hey guys, what's this? Dorm meeting?"

Fishlegs turned to see Hiccup, Ragnar, Astrid and Heather walking up to them, and raised his fingers. "Shhh!"

"Can't you tell?" Fishlegs hissed, pointing to the door. "I'm trying to spy in there!"

Astrid looked at the door. "Who are you guys spying on?"

Inside the office, the four men turned at the sound of the door hissing open, but once again, nothing was there.

Outside, Hiccup and the other three were pressed up against the wall like the others. Hiccup noticed that Astrid and Heather had a worried look on their faces.

"You two… you okay?" He asked.

Back on the inside. "Well, mon ami, call her or things go bad," the Gambler threatened.

Stoick frowned. "I said no. Now, leave peacefully or I'll have you thrown out!"

The Gambler's face matched the Chancellor's frown. "I think I detect a bluff!"

"Oh, do you?" Spitelout asked as the two side doors to the office opened up and the Disciplinary Action Squad troop marched in.

The Gambler backed away as the group closed in on him, but as they began to tighten their grid, he jumped high into the air away from them and from The Gambler's jacket, he threw numerous cards at them, striking them in various body parts. Even Spitelout became a victim when a card struck the belt on his pants, making them drop to his knees. A few made their way towards Gobber, but he not the Masai with his prosthetic arm.

"Stoick," the Gambler plopped himself on the Chancellor's desk, waving his red handkerchief idly. "I'm not leaving until you get her."

Before Stoick could respond, the door hissed opened again and Astrid walked in, staring hard at him while the DAS members were recovering.

"Well, you haven't grown up too much," said Astrid evenly.

The Gambler looked back at Astrid, "My my… you have," he observed.

"Quit the compliments, Eric," Astrid snapped, pulling out her Spirit Key. "You're here because you want something. Probably whatever I value most, like this Spirit Key or maybe my duel decks? I know that you don't have anything I want."

Eric chuckled and hopped off the desk, holding up his handkerchief. "Oh, but I do and you know it. It once belonged to you."

"Before you stole it from me, remember?" Astrid glared.

"What?" Hiccup gasped.

"It's true!" Heather growled.

"You know you wanted," said Eric as he tucked the handkerchief away. "And I know that you will duel me for it."

Hiccup and stepped up over towards Astrid. "Astrid, I don't know what this is about, but if you have to duel this guy then this may come in useful," he said as he handed her a card.

Astrid looked at it and nodded.

* * *

Everyone went to the main duelling arena where Astrid was going to duel against the Gambler. Still one question clouded their minds.

"So, who is this stiff, and why does he have it in for Astrid?" Hiccup wondered.

Ragnar looked at Heather. "You seem to know."

"It's a long story and I think Astrid is in the better position to explain it," she said.

Hiccup and the others stood in outer area of the duel arena while Stoick, Gobber and Spitelout took two seats in the stands as Astrid and Eric inserted their duel decks.

"Shall we, my cherie?" Eric smugly as his duel disk whirred to life.

Astrid grinned. "Bring it!"

"Duel!"

Astrid: 4000

Eric: 4000

"My draw!" Eric drew his card and placed it on his disk. "I invoke Gamble Angel Bunny in attack mode!"

An attractive girl with long brown hair appeared, with fake bunny paw gloves and feet, matching ears, and a skimpy black outfit that not only complimented her visor shades, but didn't leave much to the imagination. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200)

Fishlegs smiled, face going red. "Wow… look at her…"

"Easy, Legs," Hiccup smiled and shook his head. "You don't wanna go and make the Dark Magician Girl jealous, do ya?"

Fishlegs' face fell and his eyes went wide. "She here?"

"I'll place Second Coin Toss on the field and activate my Angel Bunny's effect," Eric declared as he inserted a card into his disk. "I toss a coin, and guess heads or tails," he held up a gold coin, "if I call correctly, you lose 1000 Life Points. If I guess wrong, I lose 1000 Life Points. This is heads," he showed a side that looked like a knockoff of a certain eye symbol, then turned it to show a single dot on the other side, "and this is tails."

Astrid looked at the coin and nodded, "All right…"

"Tell me, do you feel lucky, Astrid?" Eric asked before flipping the coin high into the air. Everyone watched as the coin rose, then descended onto Eric's hand. Without moving his hand, Eric smiled. "Tails."

He moved his hand and the coin was heads.

"Wrong side," Ragnar grinned.

Eric's smile only widened. "I think I'll go again."

Astrid blinked at his words. "You'll wha-?"

"Hey, that's against the rules!" Fishlegs yelled out to him.

"Not in this situation…" Hiccup muttered.

"Are one like it friend is right, I played this!" Eric pointed to his spell card. "My Second Coin Toss lets me toss the coin again. What's more, is that I can use it once per turn until it's destroyed."

"And that means he can get a do-over whenever things don't go his way," said Hiccup looking extremely troubled.

Eric flipped his coin again and caught it. "Tails," he looked under his hand and smiled. "I win! Now, Gamble Angel Bunny, you're ability activates!" He eyed Astrid. "Think of it this way, cherie, you finally hit the Jackpot!"

The Bunny raised her paw to the sky and Astrid covered herself as a shower of solid gold coins rained down on her, taking a chunk of points out.

Astrid: 3000

Eric: 4000

' _Okay, Astrid, pull it together…_ ' she thought, glaring at the white-suited duelist.

"For mon finale, I'll lay down a facedown card," Eric finished, slipping another card into his disk.

"Now it's my turn!" Astrid drew her card. "I summon Valkyrie Strategist in attack mode!"

Astrid's Valkyrie monster appeared, twirling on her tiptoes. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 900)

"Check this out, by halving her attack points she gets to strike you down on your face," she explained.

"All right, now that Valkyrie Strategist she can attack this so-called Gambler directly," said Hiccup cheered.

"You heard Hiccup attack him directly with Divine Kick!" Astrid commanded.

(ATK: 1200-600) Valkyrie Strategist then charge straight towards Eric ignoring his monster.

"I play my facedown," said Eric as he revealed his facedown. "It activates whenever you attack, me. Furthermore, I toss my pretty coin into the air and if I guess correctly your damage goes to 0. I choose heads."

He then put the coin and wanted landed on his hand he revealed it to be tails.

"Hey, it's tails," said Fishlegs.

"This time," said Hiccup grimly.

"Hiccup, is correct, and moi second coin toss," said Eric as he put the coin again. "Remember I can put my coin again. Heads!"

Unfortunately, this time it proved to be heads and Valkyrie Strategist stopped inches away from Eric.

"I'll place a facedown and end my turn," said Astrid as she placed a card in a slot.

"And I shall now end this duel!"

The blonde Obelisk stared at the Gambler, then shook her head, smiling a little. "You haven't changed one bit."

"You watch your tongue!" Eric snapped at her.

"I still see the scared little boy you still are." She pressed on

Eric glared. "Shut up! I'm not scared, I'm a winner! Remember?! I never lost a game, except to you!"

Hiccup and the others looked at one another, except for Heather, shrugged, then turned to Astrid.

"Mind fillin' in the peanut gallery?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded. "With pleasure, Hiccup. It all started when we were real young…"

* * *

' _You were the new student. No friends, no clue, just a cute smile. But we all pitched in and made you feel welcome. We were you new family, and how did you treat your new brothers and sisters? You ripped us off, one by one…_ '

"Astrid, I just love your scarf!" Heather grinned as she looked at it.

Astrid looked up from a scarlet scarf that she held in her hands. "Thanks. It was my mother's…"

"I won! I beat you!"

Astrid and Heather turned to see a kid hold up a shiny, red toy car.

"I guess I get this, huh?"

Eric nodded. "Oui. So," he held up another toy from his side of the table. "Double or nothing?"

' _You just had so much money and so many toys, that you kept gambling, and gambling, and gambling until they finally lost! You ended up taking everything from everybody and I wasn't gonna let you get away with it_.'

Astrid walked over to his desk, which was not littered with numerous toys. "All right, Pierre, give those things back!"

"Only if you beat me…" Eric shot back, turning to her, then eyed the scarf in her pocket. "But first you must wager. How about the scarf? It's very pretty, no?"

"Fine, you're on… in Duel Monsters!"

"Duel… Monsters?"

A little while later, Astrid smiled as she placed her monster down across from Eric's's weaker monster. "I win!"

Eric growled, glaring at her. "You cheated!" he said accusingly.

Astrid shrugged as she gathered her cards. "Just gotta know how to play the game. I'd be happy to teach you," she offered, rising from her seat.

"You can't leave!" Eric protested, then looked down at her pocket. "Not before I take this!" he reached out and swiped the red scarf from her jacket.

Before she could do anything, Pierre bolted from the classroom, scarf held tight in his hand while Astrid cried.

* * *

"You stole it… a gift that my mom gave me. It was her favourite scarf," Astrid stared Eric down, "You know why? Because you're not a gambler! You're a thief, and crooks like you always go down!"

Eric scoffed. "Tres bien… but of course," he pulled out the scarf. "Your scarf has become…" he lightly kissed the fabric. "My favourite good luck charm."

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, not for long!"

Hiccup was so angry right now he couldn't express it. "So that explains her beef…"

"No matter, to beat you I don't need luck," said Eric and he drew. "I pay 500 life points to keep my Fairy Box."

Astrid: 3000

Eric: 3500

"And next I activate my Bunny's special ability," he declared, flipping the gold coin again.

"Not again," Fishlegs groaned.

"One more flip and she could lose 1000 life points," said Hiccup as Eric flipped his coin.

"Heads!"

He caught the coin and looked at it. Tails…

"All right, once again!" he tossed the coin yet again and caught it. "Tails!" he looked under his hand and smiled widely. "Correct!"

Once again, Astrid was bombarded by a shower of solid gold coins.

Astrid: 2000

Eric: 3500

"Now, I shall summon my Angel Bunny's cute twin," Eric slapped a card onto his disk and an identical girl in a bunny outfit appeared on the field. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200)

"Now, my Angel Bunny, attack her Valkyrie Strategist!"

Astrid watched as the Bunny hopped into the air and began to descend onto her dancer. ' _He's not using her special ability?_ ' She thought before pressing a button on her disk.

"Not so fast! I play my facedown… Doble Passe! Check it out, this card sends all that damage to me instead, and then you take damage equal to Valkyrie Strategist's attack points!" she explained as a maelstrom of holo-cards whizzed past her.

Astrid: 800

Eric: 3500

She looked up, holding her arm. "Go, Valkyrie Strategist, get him!"

The young warrior nodded and began to rush over towards him and dealt him a powerful kick straight at Eric.

Astrid: 800

Eric: 2300

Eric regained his composure. "I'm far from finished! Now, my other Angel Bunny attacks your Valkyrie!" He cried as his Angel Bunny sent her own flurry of cards towards the Valkyrie Strategist…

His second Angel Bunny jumped into the air and tossed several card that Valkyrie Strategist. Unfortunately, there was no way for Astrid to protect her monster, but Valkyrie Strategist glowed a powerful kick destroying the two of them.

"And now I play Monster Reborn bringing back my Angel Bunny," Eric declared as his Angel Bunny return to the field. "You're mine now next turn!"

Astrid glared at him. "It all comes down to this," she murmured as she drew her card. She looked at her and her eyes widened and this didn't go unnoticed by Hiccup, who guessed that she just drew his card, "First, I'll place a card facedown, and then I play my Spell card, Scapegoat! This card lets me summon four sheep tokens in defence mode!" she explained.

Four sleeping sheep appeared with different kind of colours. (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)×4

"That'll buy her a few turns to think of something," said Hiccup.

Eric drew. "I pay 500 more points to keep my Fairy Box here…"

Astrid: 800

Eric: 1800

"Now, I'll summon Sand Gambler in attack mode!"

A new monster, one that looked disturbingly like Eric appeared between the Angel Bunnies. (ATK: 300/DEF: 1600)

"Like he needs a twin," Astrid muttered.

"See, with him on the field, I get to toss this coin," he held up the all-too-familiar gold coin, "And if it comes up heads three times in a row, all your monsters are fini! But, if I get tails, then all my monsters will bid you a fond au revoir."

"Three heads?" Ragnar tilted his head. "There's no way!"

"Technically…" Fishlegs slowly nodded. "He could."

"As long as one of those coins stays tails after the use of Second Coin Toss, then Astrid will be fine," said Heather.

"You don't seem worried," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup can't expression.

"Because I have a good handle what's facedown on Astrid's field," he said with a small smile.

"Shall we, cherie?" Eric flipped the coin.

It was heads.

"If I get two more, your beasts go bye!" he chuckled, flipping the coin again.

It was tails.

"Hold on, don't you forget my card," Eric flipped the coin again as his Second Coin Toss card glowed a little bit.

Heads again.

"That makes two and…" Eric flipped the coin for the final time.

Heads.

He smiled. ""Third time's a charm. Who is the lucky one?"

"Not Astrid," Hiccup muttered.

Fishlegs shook his head. "No way…"

"Sand Gambler, do your thing! Destroy all her monsters!"

Eric's monster counter-part glowed with a blue aura and everyone watched as Astrid's sheep tokens blew up, one by one.

"I love it when things come together," Eric chuckled as the smoke cleared. "Look at me! I'm unbeatable! Angel Bunny, attack directly!"

"I don't think so, Eric," Astrid revealed her facedown. "I play Maces and Talons!"

Ragnar looked at Hiccup. "So, that's the card you gave her."

"I think the best way to defeat a gamble was by his own game," Hiccup smirked.

"Now I choose three cards from my deck and you have to pick one depending on what type you picked an effect activates," said Astrid as she placed free facedown cards on the field and Eric looked at them nervously.

"What's the matter Eric, I thought you were a gambler?" Astrid smirked.

"I am a gambler and I choose the middle," said Eric pointing.

Slowly the card revealed itself to be a trap card called: Hallow Life Barrier.

"Now for the effect your turn comes to an end," said Astrid.

"Lucky move," Eric scoffed again. "All for 'nought!"

"We'll see about that!" Astrid drew her card and held it up. "I play the Spell card, Monster Reborn, which allows me to bring back a monster from my Graveyard and summon her to my field." She reached down and took a card, only to place it on the field. "Welcome back, Valkyrie Strategist!" she greeted as the young Valkyrie appeared on the field in a burst of light. (ATK: 1200/DEF: 900)

"That's not all!" she held up another card. "By sacrificing Valkyrie Strategist, I get to summon Valkyrie Pegasus Rider!"

A new Valkyrie appeared on the field wearing shining bright armour and a sword and shield in each hand. She wore a helmet with feather like horns on top of her sleek black hair. She was riding on top of a beautiful Pegasus and the two of them looked ready for battle. (ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800)

"When she's tribute summoned, her special ability destroys all Spell cards on the field!"

Eric watched in dismay as his Second Coin Toss was blasted into smithereens.

"Now, with only your Sand Gambler hanging around to defend you, and when I decide to attack you, it'll finally be my turn to say au revoir!" Astrid smiled confidently.

"Excuse'! I still have my Fairy Box Trap card!" Eric reminded her. "If I choose my coin toss right one more time, no damage comes from you and then my Sand Gambler destroys your Pegasus Rider!"

Astrid giggled a little bit. "It all comes down to this then… a single coin toss, because your Second Coin Toss was destroyed. I was wondering why you weren't using your second Gamble Angel Bunny's special ability. Then I got it… it was clear. You couldn't risk it, without your Second Coin Toss, you'd have lost every time! Also you were extremely worried when I played Maces and Talons."

"Be quiet!" Eric roared.

"You're not a winner," Astrid shook her head. "Eric, you're not even a gambler! You're just a scared kid back in school. Now…" she pointed to the weakest monster on his field, "Valkyrie Pegasus Rider, attack Sand Gambler!" she ordered.

Eric stepped back as Pegasus Rider galloped quickly moved towards him with a sword raised. He gritted his teeth. "It comes down to this…" he flipped his coin high into the air and caught it, "Tails… please." he begged.

"Sorry, but if you play too much, the house will win, Eric."

Eric looked down and was horrified that he had called the wrong coin side.

It was Heads.

"Pegasus Rider, finish him off!"

The Valkyrie raised her sword and sliced it straight through Sand Gambler.

Astrid: 800 (Winner)

Eric: 0

"Way to go girlfriend!" Heather cheered.

"That showed him," said Hiccup.

Eric fell to one knee as his bunnies disappeared from the field. "You just got lucky!" he yelled, not wanting to admit defeat. "Femme fatale."

Astrid looked at Eric. "Pierre, I beat you because I don't believe in luck," Astrid explained as her disk deactivated. "I work hard, and I play even harder. That's why I won! Luck is a loser's excuse!"

As Astrid turned and walked away, Eric bowed his head and pulled out the red scarf from his pocket. "I'm sorry, desiree, but the only reason I wanted to duel you… is because I am in love with you."

Astrid stopped in mid-step, her eyes widening a little.

Hiccup blinked. "Wait, he stole from Astrid because he loved her."

"I thought if I beat you, that maybe you would fall in love with me, Astrid…"

Astrid turned around just in time to catch her mother's red scarf, which Eric had tossed seconds before.

"I guess this is farewell," Eric sighed, but quickly brightened. "Unless of course, you would want to come with me? Please?"

Astrid shook her head as she tucked the scarf into her pocket. "No… I already have someone…" She looked towards Hiccup, who was smiling at her.

Eric nodded. "Very well… adieu," he turned and began to walk away.

Hiccup got onto the stage and approached Astrid. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she assured and gave him back his card. "Thanks, this really did help."

"Anything for my girl," he said.

Astrid then kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

Valkyrie Pegasus Rider

ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1800

6 Stars

LIGHT

Warrior/Effect

When this card is tribute summoned destroy all Spell Card on the opposing side of the field.


	45. The Ninth Shadow Rider

It was midnight and Gobber was duelling a mysterious figure.

"It's my turn," said Gobber as he drew. "And I summon Commander Covington in attack mode!"

Then appearing on Gobber's field was a red machine standing to attention. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 600)

"Now my sending him and my Machina Solider, Sniper and Defender to the Graveyard I can summon Machina Force!"

Gobber's three machine then jumped into the air and combined to form one massive robot that looked capable of destroying anything. (ATK: 4600/ DEF: 4100)

"Now I pay 1000 of my life points so that he can attack your monster!"

Gobber: 100

Mysterious Figure: 1200

However, the mysterious figure revealed his facedown card and the attack bounced back and slammed into Machina Force causing a massive explosion that knocked Gobber of his feet.

Gobber: 0

Mysterious Figure: 1200 (Winner)

Gobber looked up as the Mysterious Figure approached him and pulled out an ancient tome with the millennium symbol on it.

"You haven't won yet," he said before he vanished leaving behind his Spirit Key.

The mysterious figure picked it up and then walked away.

* * *

Later that morning, Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs were rushing downstairs Slifer Red mess hall.

"Aw man, we overslept!"

"That means we'll miss out on breakfast!"

When the entered they saw few plates still left at a vacant table, while the rest of the mess hall was empty. Save Chazz who sat on the far side of the room.

"Whew, still some left," Hiccup sighed, sitting down, "All right…"

"Let's dig in," Fishlegs suggested as the four sat down… to bare plates.

Hiccup tipped his cup over. "Not much left…"

"No, we've been cleaned out!" Fishlegs groaned.

"What kind of selfish slime would do that?" Ragnar asked the others, who already knew the answer.

One by one, the three of them gathered around Snotlout's table as the ebony haired Slifer enjoyed his morning drink.

Snotlout glanced at them and smirked. "You snooze, you lose."

"That's it!" Fishlegs slammed his hands down on the table and leaned in. "Give us back our food or I'm telling!"

"I would give it back, only I ate it all," Snotlout pointed out. "So, no luck. Unless you want the remains in a few hours," he offered with a more sinister smirk. He was having a good morning and it was just getting better. Revenge was sweet.

That did it.

"Gobber!" They yelled.

The three boys looked towards the curtain doorway where Gobber would usually walk through, but unfortunately, he didn't come through.

Hiccup frowned. "Uh… where's Gobber?"

Ragnar frowned too. Something definitely wasn't right with that.

* * *

Later that morning, in Banner's Alchemy class, who was still missing. Hiccup just sat there looking slightly troubled, first Banner and now Gobber this wasn't a good sign.

"I'm sure your fathers got people searching for them," said Ragnar, who read Hiccup's mind. He then looked down at the empty desk. "At least we get a break from class."

However, Ragnar spoke too soon, because the door opened and Spitelout stepped out much to the annoyance of everyone. He was carrying a planner book under his arm indicating that he was taking over the class.

Spitelout raised an eyebrow slightly as he moved to the centre of the room. "Due to Professor Banner's absence, I will be your substitute teacher for the day. Aren't you lucky?" he muttered the last part as he placed the book on the podium. "Because I'm certainly not! It was supposed to be my day off!"

After a short time of cursing and complaining, Spitelout placed a large paperboard on the wall behind him. On the board, a large, black, nearly complete circle with a dot was drawn in marker.

"Let's see…" Spitelout flipped through Banner's planner. "Ah yes; the mark of Amnael. So that's where he left off, more alchemy nonsense, I see. Well, according to these tomes, the basis of this is…" Spitelout frowned at the text. "Well… not that and I can't even make that word out…"

Sure enough, Crowler slammed the books closed, frustrated. "This is gibberish, and he's teaching you it!" he shook his head. "Maybe it's a good thing he's gone, I mean he's been poisoning your young minds…"

Hiccup couldn't help but grin, "He hates this stuff!"

Ragnar smiled nervously as the teacher ranted. "Actually, Hiccup, I think it's that he doesn't understand this stuff himself..."

After a short time of Crowler cursing, complaining and ranting, things settled down.

He held up a curved metal utensil and held it above a jar of clear liquid. "All right, time for lab work… according to the syllabus, anyway," he mumbled, dipping the utensil into the liquid, "I think this is right…?"

The answer came quickly as the jar exploded, sending a small cloud of smoke into the air. The cloud wafted away and everyone saw Spitelout's forehead was now branded with the utensil, the sound of sizzling meat dancing in the air.

The entire class laughed as Spitelout screamed in both pain and anger, ranting about how useless Duel Alchemy was to him.

Hiccup sighed and propped his head on his arm. "I sure wish Professor Banner was still here…"

Fishlegs nodded. "True… but to be honest, he also blew himself up a few good times too."

"True…"

"Mister Slifer Slacker!"

Hiccup nodded his head. "Yes?"

Spitelout looked straight at him, the mark burned into his forehead. "Chancellor Stoick would like a word with you."

"Me?" Hiccup repeated slowly.

"That's right, and the rest of the gang," he said pointing at Astrid, Ragnar, Heather and Snotlout. "Reporter him at once."

* * *

"What do you mean 'he's missing', Gobber couldn't have just disappeared!"

Stoick frowned as he looked at the crowd of students that stood around his table. "I'm sorry, but the bottom line is that we've searched everywhere and we can't find him or Banner."

"And there's no log of Banner leaving the island…" Spitelout added, trailing off.

Snotlout shrugged. "Well… if that's the case, then we all know what happened… Banner is a Shadow Rider and he got Gobber, who is now trapped the Shadows."

Astrid glared at him. "Don't say that!"

"Well then you explain it!"

Stoick frowned. "Sadly, Snotlout is right about Gobber been trapped in the shadows. For one of the Spirit Gates has been unlocked."

They all gasped.

"But Gobber is one of the best duellist I know," said Hiccup.

Stoick nodded. "Which means the Shadow Rider is quite tough indeed. So I advise you all to be careful."

* * *

Hiccup and Ragnar soon joined up with Fishlegs outside the campus and explain to Fishlegs the situation.

"So, how do we find out what's up if we can't even find Banner?" Fishlegs asked.

"He's got a point," said Ragnar looking at Hiccup. "Your father turned Duel Academy inside out trying to find him."

"I'd like to help, but what in the three of us do that hasn't been done?" Fishlegs asked.

"Look, I know this isn't going to be easy, but we can't give up," said Hiccup firmly. "If Banner is a Shadow Rider we need to him, right?"

"Right," said a voice.

Fishlegs jumped when he turned to discover Snotlout right next to him. "Beat it Snotlout," he said.

Snotlout just smirked. "Chill, I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here to save the day. To find Banner."

Hiccup looked at Ragnar and Fishlegs, who weren't totally reassured by this.

"Well, say something!" Snotlout yelled furiously.

* * *

Moments later, they began searching through the campus following Snotlout. Why they were following him they had no idea.

"All right, the first thing you do to find a missing person the first thing you have to do is go to the scene of the crime," said Snotlout.

"But we don't know where that is, isn't that the problem?" Fishlegs pointed out.

"Listen, it's a figure of speech!" Snotlout snapped. "Now, come on! We just have to retrace Banner steps."

"We don't know his steps either," said Fishlegs.

"I know, but let's just humour him," said Hiccup as he followed Snotlout.

"It's not like we have any better ideas," said Ragnar.

* * *

They soon made their way to Banner's office and began searching for any clue that might lead to him.

"Well, guys, there are no clues here," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah, nothing here either," said Hiccup examining a bookcase. "You'd think, he left a note or something."

"He did, look," said Ragnar as he showed them a piece of paper next to the phone.

Hiccup took the note from Ragnar's hand and looked at it. "It's Banner's handwriting, but it's not very clear, but it seems like he was talking to someone whose name started with, 'Ph'."

"Must be code," said Snotlout and snatch to the note from him. He then looked at it screwing his face as he entered into deep thought. "Yes, I see."

"Come again," said Hiccup.

"Well, it is clear as day for genius like me," Snotlout bragged.

"What does it mean?" Fishlegs asked curiously.

"It means that Banner and Gobber took on the ninth Shadow Rider," said Snotlout.

"Hang on, why would Banner be with Gobber in the first place and why would he duel a Shadow Rider?" Hiccup asked.

"That doesn't matter right now," said Snotlout brushing of the question. "What does matter is that I know who the writer is. Ah, man, I'm just too good."

"We get it, your great," said Hiccup rolling his eyes. "Now will you tell us who it is?"

"Who indeed? The note was by the phone, which means that he wrote while talking to someone… someone whose name starts with, 'Ph'."

Everyone's eyes widened. "Phlegma!" they gasped.

"I hate to burst your bubble, Detective, but there's no way Phlegma could be the Shadow Rider," said Hiccup.

Snotlout turned on him. "Oh, and what makes you say that? What evidence do you have?"

"Firstly: while she sell cards, she has no idea how to duel. Secondly: she was a friend of my mum's and lastly: she and your dad have been seen each other every single night."

Snotlout stared at him. "How do you know that?"

"Because Gobber told me he ran into them during one of their meetings and they explained the entire thing."

Snotlout blinked. "Okay, maybe I was a little off."

"Just a _little_?" Ragnar said sceptically.

After that they spent a good half an hour it would seem their efforts was fruitless, but Fishlegs discovered something.

"Check this out," said Fishlegs as he unrolled a map.

Snotlout then shoved Fishlegs out of the way and looked at it. "Of course, it's obvious!" he exclaimed. "This explains it all."

"What? Do you see another tree?" Fishlegs asked rubbing his head.

"No, this!" said Snotlout pointing as a symbol on the map. "Check it out, it's the mark of Amnael. The one we learned in class."

"You're right," said Hiccup examining the map.

"Now this is a clue," said Snotlout. "I mean, after all, Banner is so into all that Alchemy junk this must be where it is."

"Yeah, and it's in the forest to," said Fishlegs.

"And judging from the map I'd say it's in the general area of the Abandoned Dorm," said Hiccup examining the map closely.

"Then we better head down there and if we can't find any trace of Gobber or Banner," said Ragnar.

* * *

They then began walking through the forest and headed as the general direction of where the mark was on the map and Snotlout insisted on taking the lead.

"Remind me again why we're letting Snotlout lead us?" Ragnar asked.

"Would you guys stop with the complaining?" Snotlout snapped. "I'm doing what I can here"

Ragnar looked quite sceptical. "Yeah… you're doing what you can… and what you did helped you 'figure out' that Phlegma was the final Shadow Rider," he murmured.

Snotlout winced at the reminder of his bad guess.

"Yeah really good idea there, Snotlout," Ragnar shook his head.

"I get it!" He exclaimed. He was starting to get annoyed with all the comments that were being fed to him about his bad detective work. He didn't see any of them throwing out theories.

Hiccup put his hands behind his head. "What are we doing out here, anyway? I thought my dad said that they couldn't find them anywhere?"

Snotlout smiled and held up a stick with a fuzzy white end on it. "Easy. With this cat toy, we'll just find Pharaoh. We find Pharaoh, we find Banner!"

Ragnar sighed. "Didn't you try that already on Duel Monsters Spirit Day, Snotlout?" he asked.

"And how does that find Gobber we don't even know their disappearances are linked," said Hiccup.

"Anyone got a better idea!?" Snotlout snapped, having enough of the backlash.

Everyone watched as Fishlegs' hands moved in a blur for a few moments, then the Slifer backed away, smiling widely at his work. "Now, Pharaoh will think that you're a cat… now, you just need a convincing meow…"

Everyone practically fell over laughing at the sight of Snotlout's face. Fishlegs had drawn large kitty whiskers on his cheek.

Snotlout's eye twitched as he cracked his knuckles, "Ohh… you think that's funny, that I'm a cat, huh? Well, lemme show you my claws, you Slifer Slacker!" He screamed, charging at them, causing them to run away laughing.

As the group ran off, three figures in nearby trees stepped out onto the branches, their eyes watching them closely.

* * *

Astrid was walking to the Obelisk Dorm to check in on Agnar to see how his recovery was going. Ruffnut had decided to join her, either to annoy her or to stare at her brother. Despite his personality being back with a vengeance, his physical being wasn't as strong as it should be.

The loud sound of glass breaking made they stop in their tracks. They stormed into the Obelisk dorm.

"Agnar!"

They burst into Agnar' room to find that it was trashed, the balcony window wide open and shards of glass covering the floor. But that wasn't the only thing wrong in the room… a glowing circle with a dot in the middle floated above the glass shards, then disappeared from sight.

"What was that!?" said Astrid

Astrid ran over to the balcony, seeing something in the distance. She then looked at Ruffnut. "Find your brother and track down Hiccup and the others."

"What are you going to do?" Ruffnut asked.

Astrid didn't answer and instead jumped off the balcony and raced after the figure.

Astrid chased after the figure for what seemed like forever until they came to a clearing. On the other side, the figure stood there waiting, under the shade of a large tree. It wore a tan, hooded cloak, wore dark clothes underneath with red sashes, hard, leather gloves, and a strange, black mask that had glowing yellow eyes that seemed to stare into her souls.

"Let us guess…" Astrid turned on her duel disk. "You're a Shadow Rider?"

The Shadow Rider, who had its own duel disk on, said nothing as he drew his opening hand.

"Well… let's go. Because I know you have Agnar and I'm not leaving here without him!" Astrid shouted as she drew her opening hand.

"DUEL!"

Shadow Rider: 4000

Astrid: 4000

The Shadow Rider drew the sixth card and placed three cards facedown.

"Here I come Rider?" Astrid drew. "I play Polymerization fusing Valkyrie Recruit and Valkyrie Swordswoman to form Valkyrie Swordmaster!"

Astrid's star fusion monster appeared. (ATK: 2200/DEF: 1200)

"You picked the wrong Key-Keeper to mess with!" She yelled. "Valkyrie Swordmaster, attack directly!"

As the Swordmaster charged through, the Shadow Rider activated his trap card.

"Trap card?" Astrid gasped as her attack was repelled. "Swordmaster's attack then go through! Not good."

"Banner, you around?" Snotlout looked around the forest as he, Hiccup, Ragnar, walked around, having separated from the others to cover more ground.

* * *

"Gobber?" Hiccup called out. "C'mon, it's us!"

"If you out there give us a sign," Ragnar called.

"AHHHH!"

The three boys spun around to see Fishlegs running through the woods.

"SNAKE!" Fishlegs Syrus pointed behind them. "I saw a snake!"

"So what?" said Snotlout.

"We are in a forest, you guys…" Hiccup pointed out. "Of course there's snakes."

"Yeah, right kind of native here," said Ragnar.

"But this wasn't natural!" Fishlegs whimpered.

Seconds later, the point was proven as a thick cloud of snakes fell out of the trees above them. Everyone screamed as the slithery serpents landed either on them, or very close by them.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Heather was wandering through the forest, she had just heard from Ruffnut about the encounter Astrid had.

"Oh, where are you, Astrid," she said.

She then saw a light coming through the trees that could only mean a duel was in progress. She emerged through the trees and saw Astrid duelling a strange can only be the final Shadow Rider and she was losing.

"Astrid!" Heather cried.

"Heather! Get out of here, he's too strong!" Astrid yelled.

The Shadow Rider then drew his card and activated it. Then suddenly what looked like a meteor shower rain down upon Astrid's field destroying her Swordmaster.

"Oh no, I'm wide open," she said at the Shadow Riders monsters descended upon her.

They fired a combination of buyer blasts that slams right into Astrid.

Shadow Rider: 4000

Astrid: 0 (Winner!)

Heather watched in horror as Astrid toppled to the ground her cards scattered. Then her key vanished and the Shadow Rider approached her with an open tome in his hand he opened it and Astrid vanished.

"Astrid!" Heather cried.

The Shadow Rider then turned towards her raising his Duel Disk.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup and the others were crowd around a campfire. They were still recovering from the attack of the flying snakes.

"Flying snakes, now I've seen everything," said Hiccup.

"We still haven't found anything that gave us any clue about Gobber and Banner's whereabouts," said Fishlegs.

"Not surprising with him leading us," Ragnar grumbled.

"You got a problem of how I lead!" Snotlout snapped.

"I most certainly do," said Ragnar. "I may have an idea where we can find our answers."

"And where's that?" Hiccup asked.

"Instead of looking around the area of the Abandoned Dorm left check the dorm itself," said Ragnar. Everyone stared at him. "Listen it's no secret that people have disappeared from it and according to Agnar, Banner had something to do with it that's probably the best place we can find clues."

"I say we should keep looking around the woods," said Snotlout.

Ragnar rolled his eyes and looked at Hiccup. "What do you think?"

"Why don't you go looking at the Abandoned Dorm and we keep looking around the woods," Hiccup suggested. "We can saying communications with each other with our PDA's."

"All right," said Ragnar getting to his feet. "Let's say we meet outside the Abandoned Dorm in three hours."

"Sounds good," said Hiccup getting to his feet.

They watched as Ragnar left and a minute later they had a meowing the distance.

"Pharaoh?" Hiccup gasped.

"It came from over here," said Fishlegs crawling towards the bush.

Moments later they grabbed their torches and began searching through the dense forest, but there was still no sign of the cat, not even a whisker. However, they could hear him meowing indicating that he was not far away.

"He's close," said Snotlout looking at the others. "Quick, let's spread out this could be our only chance."

"Right," Hiccup nodded.

"Let's go," said Fishlegs.

They then went their separate ways.

* * *

Heather was still duel the final Shadow Rider and it was taking everything she had to in the game.

"I now sacrifice Mechanicalchaser and the Robotic Knight in order to summon Perfect Machine King!" Heather yelled as a two monsters were replaced with her most powerful machine in her deck. (ATK: 2700/ DEF: 1500)

"And now he attacks!" Heather yelled as Perfect Machine King fired a large of missiles straight towards her opponent.

However, the Shadow Rider simply raises facedown card which created a barrier around him and the missiles were reflected and slammed into Heather.

She yelled as her life points depleted.

Shadow Rider: 4000 (Winner!)

Heather: 0

Heather then fell to the ground and the Shadow Rider approached pulling out his tome. Suddenly Heather disappeared along with the Spirit Key.

* * *

Snotlout was still trying to find Pharaoh holding out his cat toy so that Pharaoh would come out. Then Ojama Yellow appeared looking quite scared.

"Something's wrong," he said quivering slightly, "I'm scared."

"Yeah, well, what's new?" Snotlout grunted.

"Look, boss. Something is just not right here."

"Oh, please," said Snotlout brushing him aside. "Get lost."

He then heard Pharaoh meowing just in front of him. "Pharaoh!"

He shone his torch over the cat and discovered two things, first was the mark of Amnael and second was a pair of glasses that belonged to Banner. Just as he shone his torch over the mark it vanished me bent down to examine the glasses.

"What the—Banner's glasses?" he said picking them up. "He's close… must be."

He looked up and saw the mark of Amnael hovering in front of him. Then quickly as he saw it vanished and he shone his torch to discover Banner's neck tie.

"Hey, there's Banner's neck tie, too," he said curiously. He kept on following the trail of the mark of Amnael and soon discovered Banner's shirt. "And his shirt. But where is the Professor?"

Then suddenly the five Ojama brothers appeared looking quite scared.

"Who cares," Yellow wailed.

Then suddenly appearing out of the mist was a mysterious figure in a mask. At once the five Ojama brothers hid behind him and he saw the master figure activating his duel disk. This could only mean one thing.

"You took Banner and Gobber," said Snotlout activating his duel disk. "Well, I'm going to win him back. Now, let's go!"

"You got him Snotlout!" Yellow cheered.

"We're with you!" said Green.

"That's right!" said Black.

"All the way!" said Red.

"Now let's beat this guy," said Blue.

"It's time to take you down!" they all cried.

"DUEL!"

* * *

Hiccup and Fishlegs soon found Pharaoh on the ground and Fishlegs picked him up.

"I found, Pharaoh," he said.

"Still leaves the question of Banner's whereabouts," said Hiccup.

Suddenly his pendant began to glow and he looked down at it slightly troubled.

* * *

Snotlout was staring down at the Shadow Rider with his Armed Dragon LV7 right behind him and his life points nearly depleted.

"You're going down, Shadow Rider!" Snotlout yelled. "And you know why? Because I'm on the job, I send Despair from the Dark to the grave and activate Armed Dragon's special ability." He then sent Despair from the Dark into his graveyard. "Now all your monsters were equal of your attack points than the months I just discarded will be destroyed. Go! Take them down!"

Armed Dragon then fired two disks of blue energy and they sliced right through the Shadow Riders monsters.

"And next turn I'm going to attack you directly," Snotlout smirked. "So, any last words Shadow Rider, before your toast?"

"I do, I never should have doubted you, boss," said Yellow.

The Shadow Rider just stood there.

Hiccup and Fishlegs were now looking for Snotlout, but found no trace.

"Where's, Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked puzzled.

"I don't know," said Hiccup looking deeply concerned. "We should never have splitting up."

Then suddenly they had movement in the bushes and turned their torches towards the rustling. Seconds later the twins emerged and when they saw the two of them they would deeply relieved.

"Ruff, Tuff, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"Looking for you," said Ruffnut. "We think we found the final Shadow Rider."

"Don't you mean Astrid found him?" Tuffnut asked.

"Whatever, what matters is that Astrid was chasing him down after he adopted her brother, but we haven't heard from her since?" said Ruffnut. "She then told us to find you and everyone else. I managed to find Heather and she's about be someone the words, but she hasn't gone back to us either it's like she's vanished."

Hiccup had a nasty feeling he knew what had happened to Astrid and Heather and his eyes widened you realise that Snotlout must be in the same position right now.

"We need to move!" he yelled and they ran through the trees in the hope to reach Snotlout in time.

* * *

The Shadow Rider then drew his card and suddenly a massive creature appeared on his field right behind him.

Snotlout backed away in fear. "What the—what is that thing?"

The Shadow Rider didn't answer and instead activated another card. Suddenly a massive storm was formed right above them and Snotlout watched as meteors rain down upon him.

He held his ground, but his Armed Dragon wasn't as lucky. He watched as it began to disintegrate any turn to face the Shadow Rider and looked towards the tome in his pocket which produced the mark of Amnael.

"It's that mark again, but why?" he gasped.

He then watched as the Shadow Riders creature raised its rock like hand and sent a burst of flames straight at him. He yelled as it slammed into him causing aim explosion.

Shadow Rider: 1900 (Winner!)

Snotlout: 0

* * *

Hiccup and the others heard his screams.

"Did you hear that?" said Hiccup.

They quickly rushed out of the forest and into the clearing where they heard Snotlout.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled.

However, when they got there they found no trace of him.

"Here, Hiccup look over their!" Fishlegs yelled.

Hiccup look down and saw Snotlout card lying on the grass where the Ojama brothers were crying over them and the mark of Amnael and disappear the second they saw it.

Hiccup dropped his torch. "It is cards."

* * *

Meanwhile below the Academy, the Shadow Rider was at the spirit gates and use the keys he collected to unlock three of them. Leaving only two remaining, but that was enough to start an earthquake that shook the entire island and seven columns of light shot out of the water for all to see.

"What was that?" Fishlegs quivered.

Hiccup didn't answer, because he had a very strong feeling what it was and it was not good.

* * *

Ragnar was just outside the abandoned dorm when he saw the columns of light. "The spirit gates," he said.

He then looked towards the abandoned dorm and made his way inside.


	46. Amnael's Endgame Part 1

Snotlout's eyes snapped open and he found himself inside an oddly coloured bubble. He looked around to see more and more bubbles floating around her.

"Where… where am I?"

Rising to his feet, he noticed something else about the other bubbles. In each one, there was a person laying down, not moving a muscle. Even though they weren't moving, he recognized them all rather easily.

"Astrid?" he looked at the other bubbles. "Agnar!? Heather!? Gobber!? Where on Earth am I?"

A bright light from the side made Snotlout hold a hand over her eyes. He turned to find the source of the light, but instead, he found something that made his eyes go wide. Directly ahead of him, was the planet Earth itself. It sat there in the void of space as Snotlout watched from his bubble prison.

"Actually, let's make that…" he gulped. "Where off the Earth am I?"

* * *

"What is going on here?"

"Yeah, those six laser beams of light just shot out of nowhere!"

Hiccup, Fishlegs and the twins looked up at the beams, staring at them in awe.

"Someone having a laser light show?" Ruffnut wondered.

Hiccup shook his head, looking at the beams. "Actually guys… those aren't part of a light show, and I don't think that they shot out of nowhere. Seven of the nine Spirit Gates must've been unlocked?"

"But how?" Tuffnut asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ruffnut as she looked up at the lights. "The final Shadow Rider went after and beat the others…"

' _But that means_ …' Hiccup couldn't finish his thoughts. The fact that his girlfriend had lost… it was starting to make his chests constrict in fear, anger, regret, sadness, and so much more.

"That means everyone's lost but Hiccup and Ragnar!" Fishlegs looked at the others. "They have the final Spirit Keys!"

"Man, this last Shadow Rider must be really good," Tuffnut gulped.

Ruffnut nodded. "No joke…" she turned to Hiccup. "Guys, let's get outta here… please? If you're the last ones, then they're gonna hunt you down! We gotta hide right now!"

"I'm not gonna hide…" Hiccup stated

Fishlegs blinked at them. "W-what?"

Hiccup turned and looked at her. "Our friends need help and we gotta give it to them!"

"Wait, where's Ragnar?" Ruffnut blinked finally realising Ragnar's absence.

"He's gone to the abandoned dorm to search things out," said Fishlegs.

"I better warn him," said Hiccup going out his PDA. "Rag, do you really?"

Ragnar's face appeared on the screen, but it faded in and out. "Barely… I suppose—sure—lights in the say?"

"Yeah, we saw them, we think the final Shadow Riders on the island," said Hiccup. "Just wait outside the dorm and will meet you there."

"Didn't catch that," said Ragnar statically. "But I—some kind of—mark—looks like the mark of Amnael."

Hiccup looked to the others and they had horrified looks on their faces. "Rag, don't go wait for us!" he yelled.

"So I can catch that, but I've got a cheque this out I see you later," said Ragnar and the screen went blank.

"Ragnar! Ragnar!" Hiccup your to try to get him back on the PDA. When he failed to get a connection he looked up at the others. "We need to get there right away."

* * *

Deep under the Abandoned Dorm, in a large, dark room, the final Shadow Rider stood. Behind him was two others, silently watching him.

From beneath his mask, a dark laugh escaped as he spun around and held up his arms.

"All has gone according to plan. Now, it is time for the Endgame! Where Hiccup will face a duelling trial unlike anything they have ever seen!" He roared as the floor in front of him lit up with a golden light.

"So, you're after Hiccup," said a voice. The Shadow Rider looked up as Ragnar descended down the steps. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"What you want is immaterial," said the Shadow Rider.

"Not even a duel?" Ragnar asked activating his duel disk.

"Then bring it on," said the Shadow Rider activating his own.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others were rushing straight towards the abandoned dorm when a large bolt of lightning fell from the sky and collided with a large tree, snapping it in half. As it fell, Hiccup and his friends ran out of the way before it came down on them, screaming.

"Uh… timber?" Tuffnut breathed.

"That… was close…" said Hiccup.

"Guys…" Ruffnut pointed ahead at the scorched trunk.

Everyone turned to see a glowing circle with a dot in the centre of it. It lingered on the trunk for a few moments, then it disappeared and reappeared a few feet away… then it went away again and came back, this time, even further away.

"The mark of Amnael," Fishlegs realized. "It's like it's trying to lead us someplace… not good."

Ruffnut looked at Hiccup. "This is what exactly happened with Astrid."

Hiccup scowled. "Looks like finding this guy will be easier than we thought. C'mon guys!"

The group of six followed the mark until it led them to an all-too-familiar building: the Abandoned Dorm.

Hiccup looked around. "Figures he'd be here. The Abandoned Dorm is where all of this began… and it looks like this is where it'll end."

Before he could ask anything else, a flash of lightning and the loud booming of thunder interrupted the eerie calmness of the old dorm. Pharaoh leapt out of Fishlegs' arms and bolted inside.

Hiccup sighed. "Great. Now we gotta get him back…"

"This gets better and better," Fishlegs moaned.

"I know," said Tuffnut excitedly. "This place is awesome."

"How come we never came here before?" Ruffnut asked.

"Don't know, strange that."

"Guys, let's focus on getting the cat back and finding Ragnar," said Hiccup.

* * *

Meanwhile down in the chamber, Ragnar was still duelling the Shadow Rider and it was a very hardfought battle.

"Now I remove from play my Blade Knight and Big Shield Gardna from the game in order to play Templar Knight!" Ragnar yelled as his two monsters were removed from the game.

Templar Knights stood there in all his glory with his sword held high. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 1800)

"I now play the spell card Megamorph and since my life points are lower then yours this gives Templar Knight double the power," said Ragnar as he inserted the card. Temper Knight roared as his power increased. (ATK: 2500-5000). "Now attack!"

Templar Knight slammed his sword against the Shadow Riders huge monster and destroyed it.

Shadow Rider: 500

Ragnar: 200

"Just one more attack and I can win this," he said breathlessly.

However, when the Shadow Rider drew his card and activated it he knew he had lost. Suddenly a new creature appeared on his field with a large body wrappings and a sun forehead. He closed his eyes as it attacked Templar Knight.

Shadow Rider: 500 (Winner!)

Ragnar: 0

* * *

Not too far away in a corridor Hiccup and the others were chasing after Pharaoh when they heard a yell and recognise it as Ragnar's.

"Ragnar!" Hiccup yelled and he ran down the corner even faster.

After a tight squeeze with the rest of them through the hole, Hiccup led the others down the newly discovered passageway until they came to a cut in the corridor.

"This doorway was never here before," Hiccup shined his light around the area. "Then again, neither was this passageway."

Fishlegs grinned nervously. "Well then, I say we wait for another day to check it out…"

"And leave Ragnar here, I think not," said Hiccup as he pushed on.

Soon they all stepped through the doorway and they found themselves in a very large and very dark room.

Hiccup shined his light around the room. The floor was covered in dust, and there was some kind of strange equipment everywhere. But, one thing that caught their eye were three large, stone tablets straight ahead of them. Each one depicted a horrifying looking monster, somewhat similar to each of the Egyptian Gods... but they looked much darker.

' _The Sacred Beasts…_ ' Toothless spoke from beside Hiccup, who nodded slowly in confirmation.

"Man, this place looks like a lab from a horror movie…" Ruffnut cracked, looking around.

Fishlegs whimpered and stepped closer to the group. "But where's the mad scientist hiding?"

Hiccup shone his torch the centre and then solve Ragnar lying on the ground.

"Ragnar!?" he gasped rushing over to him.

Ragnar opened his eyes and looked at Hiccup. "Glad you made it."

"What happened?" Hiccup asked.

"I duelled the final Shadow Rider and lost. He's more powerful than any of the ones we faced," Ragnar wheezed. "I'm afraid he got the others and is something else you should know. The Shadow Rider is—"

Ragnar then vanished and suddenly the entire ground shook as another one of the Spirit Gates unlocked.

"No," said Hiccup furiously slamming his hand on the ground.

Fishlegs and the twins didn't see anything. Tuffnut then shone his torch and found, standing propped up against the wall was…

"A coffin!" he gasped.

Fishlegs gulped.

Hiccup got up and made his way over towards the coffin. "Guys, give me a hand."

The twins walked over to help push the lid of the coffin away and with a loud thud, the lid connected with the floor, the contents of the coffin exposed.

Hiccup looked inside. "It's a mummy," He looked over the old corpse.

"What is a mummy doing here?" Ruffnut wondered aloud.

"More like, 'what are we doing here'?" Fishlegs countered, shaking furiously.

"Wait a sec…" Hiccup leaned in a bit and he let out a loud gulp. "Fishlegs… give me your flashlight," he whispered.

"Oh no, what's wrong?"

"Hiccup?" Rufnnut asked as she too looked in, letting a gulp escape down his throat as well. "What's that…?"

"What's wrong is that…" Hiccup shined the light on the mummy. "This thing looks… familiar."

The mummy inside, wore a long lab coat, a dress shirt with a tie, light coloured pants, square glasses over its dried out skin, and it's long black hair lay peacefully over its coat.

"There's only one way to be sure…" Hiccup then reached over and pulled away the left side of the mummy's coat. Underneath the fabric was one word, sewn into the fabric of the mummy's shirt.

Banner…

"It is him…" Hiccup stepped back a foot or so. "Professor…"

"What…?" Fishlegs asked.

"No way…" Ruffnut muttered.

"It can't be," said Tuffnut.

Hiccup pointed to the coffin. "The… mummy… it is or was… Professor Banner."

"NO WAY!"

Fishlegs ran up to the coffin and looked it and shook his head. "He can't have mummified this fast!" He gazed at the very dried out corpse.

"You think it's a fake?" Ruffnut asked his overweight friend.

Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah, like a wax dummy, right?"

"Wrong! That is the one you know as Professor Banner…"

Suddenly, the lights in the large room turned on, startling everyone along with the new voice that had spoken before the lights flicked on. The Slifers spun around to see a tall figure, wearing black pants, a tan hooded cloak, a black mask and balaclava over its face, while a custom Duel Disk occupied its left arm.

"So it's you?" said Hiccup, narrowing his eyes.

The figure laughed coldly. "Yes. I am the final Shadow Rider!"

Ojama Yellow then appeared and quivered at the site of the Shadow Rider. "That's the one there," he said fearfully as he had behind Hiccup. "That's the duellist that took down Snotlout and he's really good, but you got a beat him to get Snotlout back, you just gotta."

"It's true Hiccup," said the Shadow Rider. "To get any of your friends back you'll have to beat me. Amnael!"

"Amnael?" Hiccup asked. "As in the 'Mark of Amnael' Amnael?"

"That's right," Amnael reached into his garb and pulled out a strange looking, stone book. "And I have your friends' right here… And, if you cannot defeat me, you will be joining them. All of you."

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder at the mummified corpse of his mentor. "But what about Professor Banner?" he asked, looking back at Amnael. "Or is it too late to bring him back?"

"It was always too late!" Amnael snapped. "It's best that you forget about the one you knew as Banner, for he is no more!"

"What do you mean no more?" Hiccup shouted. "What is this? I want to know what you've done to Professor Banner."

Amnael shook his head. "To understand what this is about, to understand everything that has been going on, you," he pointed to JHiccup, "must only do one thing. That is to duel and defeat me, Hiccup! Only then will this Tome," he held up the strange book, "and all the secrets within will be open to you, free to be discovered. Will you accept this challenge, will you face me?"

"You're on!"

Hiccup ran out onto the middle of the floor. Fishlegs and the twins moved away from the mummified teacher, creeped out by it.

"Let's duel!" Hiccup cried out, turning on his duel disk.

Amnael pulled back his hood to reveal a mane of shocking white hair as his duel disk turned on, "Prepare yourself, Hiccup!"

"I've been preparing myself for this ever since you Shadow Riders first showed up!" Hiccup snapped at him as they both drew their opening hands. "And now, Amnael, time to duel!"

Hiccup: 4000

Amnael: 4000

"It's time to take you down! No matter what it takes, I'm gonna get my friends back, Amnael!"

"But, what if you don't have what it takes to beat me, Hiccup?" Amnael inquired. "Because to beat me, you'll have to reach a whole new echelon of duelling! Now, we begin!"

Amnael drew the first card of the duel. "I begin by playing the Spell card known as Alchemic Kettle - Chaos Distill!"

A huge, reddish metal pot rose up behind Amnael, smoke billowing out of the metal hoses.

"What is that thing?" Ruffnut stared at the pot.

"Yeah, like I'm gonna know," Tuffnut muttered sarcastically.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Fishlegs.

"Due to its effect, all of my cards that would normally go to the graveyard, will be removed from play," Amnael explained.

Hiccup frowned. ' _Why would he remove his own monsters from play?_ '

"Next, I'll activate my second Spell card," Amnael held up another card, "Steel Lamp! When Chaos Distill is on the field, I can use Steel Lamp to Special Summon Alchemy Beast - Salamandra the Steel!"

From a burst of red hot flames, a giant metal dragon appeared on Amnael's field, roaring. (ATK: 500/DEF: 500)

"You see, Alchemy Beasts can't be Summoned by normal means, but they can wage a direct attack to you," Amnael explained as he held up two more cards. "Which is a big problem for you, when I play these two cards: Bronze Scale and Lead Compass, with Chaos Distill, I can now Summon two more Alchemy Beasts: Ouroboros the Bronze and Leon the Lead!"

Two more fiery pillars erupted from the floor and two more, strange looking monsters appeared beside the first Alchemy Beast. Leon the Lead looked like an ancient creature from myths, his mane glistening in the light while he stood on all four legs. (ATK: 500/DEF: 500)

Ouroboros looked like a long, dark red serpent with six yellow eyes, three on each side of his head. (ATK: 500/DEF: 500)

"I'll now end with a facedown card," Amnael chuckled, slipping a card into his duel disk.

Hiccup grit his teeth. "Three monsters in the very first turn?"

"Yes, and if you think that's impressive, then wait until you see them attack!"

"Well, Amnael, its too bad I'm not gonna give them that chance!" Hiccup swore as he drew his card. "I summon the Dragon Knight Scaldy!"

Bursting forth from a torrent of water, Hiccup's aqua knight appeared on the field. (ATK: 800/DEF: 1000)

"And since he's the only one out on the field, I get to draw two more cards…" he drew his extra cards and grinned. "I play the Equip Spell card Dragon Knight's Crossbow!"

A crossbow fell from the sky and Scaldy caught it with ease and pointed it straight towards Amnael. (ATK: 800-1600)

"Fire! Rapidfire Arrow Head!"

Amnael smirked behind his smooth mask as the arrows flew at him. "Those arrows are nothing more than toothpicks, Hiccup. I activate a Trap!" he waved his arm to his facedown card, "Elemental Absorber!"

A strange looking metal device appeared on the field, four spikes covering the top of it while one spike was on the bottom, making the device look like a twisted version of a spinning top.

"With this card, by removing a monster card from play, I can negate the attack of one other monster, as long as they have the same Attribute!" Amnael plucked a card from his hand.

Hiccup blinked the frowned. "That's not good."

"No, it isn't!" Amnael held up the card to reveal a pale blue girl in a matching dress. "Especially since I've chosen to remove Aqua Spirit!"

The card disappeared and as the large bubble gained speed, the strange device spun around until a blue triangle appeared and began to glow brightly. Seconds before the arrows could hit any monsters, a huge wave of water appeared and the arrows disappeared within it.

"No! My attack—"

"Has been cancelled!" Amnael finished, as he drew his card. "Now it's my turn! Go, my Alchemy Beasts, attack Hiccup directly!" he ordered. "Salamandra the Steel, let loose Flameshot of Ore!"

The metal Dragon shot a large fireball and hit Hiccup hard in the stomach, making the Slifer wince in pain.

"Now, Ouroboros and Leon, attack as well!"

The other two monsters fired off a blue stream of energy and a hail of sharp metal scales that hit Hiccup seconds later.

Hiccup: 2500

Amnael: 4000

"Hiccup just got clobbered!" Ruffnut moaned.

"Not how you want to start a duel," said Tuffnut.

Fishlegs frowned. "Hang in there, Hiccup, he's got one card left in his hand! If you can hold out this turn, you'll have the upper hand and he'll be the one on the ropes!"

"Is that what you think…?" The masked Rider looked up and shook his head. "You should've paid more attention in class. Then, maybe you would know that against my Alchemy Deck, nothing is what it seems!" he turned over his final card, which was divided into six parts, each one with a different colour.

"I play the Black Process - Negledo! When Chaos Distill is on the field, and there are no other cards in my hand, this card allows me to remove all Alchemy Beasts from my field and I get to draw two new cards per Beast!"

Hiccup watched in disbelief as the three monsters that had assaulted him were engulfed by fire, "So, you're taking out your own monsters?"

"That is the way of the Alchemist… destruction and rebirth. However, I can assure you that when you are destroyed here, there will be no rebirth for you!" Amnael reached for his deck. "Since I removed three Alchemy Beasts, I can draw six new cards!"

Amnael held up three cards, "I activate Tin Spell Circle, Mercury Hourglass and Silver Key! Much like the other three cards that work with Chaos Distill, I can use these to summon forth three new Alchemy Beasts!" Amnael declared as the three cards turned into light and poured into the strange machine behind him. "So, I summon Eatos the Tin, Ekenas the Mercury and Moonface the Silver!"

These three new monsters looked stranger than the last three Alchemy Beasts. Eatos looked like a bird made of shiny metal. (ATK: 500/DEF: 500)

Echeneis looked like a four-winged mutant of a whale, with three metal horns coming out of its snout. (ATK: 500/DEF: 500)

Moonface pretty much looked like the actual moon with giant legs. (ATK: 500/DEF: 500)

"Alrl ight, now it's my turn!" Hiccup drew his card. ' _But I need to be careful,_ ' he glanced at the Elemental Absorber. _'He stopped my Water attribute monsters from attacking, so I need something else…_ '

"Go Dragon Knight Meatlug!"

Hiccup's trusty defensive monster appeared on the field, flexing her arms. (ATK: 1300/DEF: 2000)

"Now go on, Clayman, run him down!"

Amnael watched as Clayman sped towards him. "I activate the effect of Elemental Absorber!" he declared, taking another card from his hand. "I'll remove The Rock Spirit to negate the attack of that Earth-Attribute monster!" He cried out as his device spun around again until another triangle, this one yellow with a strip near the bottom appeared.

Much like Scaldy, a defensive wall appeared between Meatlug and Eatos the Tin, stopping Meatlug from destroying Eatos.

"I guess I'll play one card facedown and end my turn," said Hiccup.

' _Not good, it looks like he can stop the attack of every attribute monster I have in my deck…_ ' Hiccup thought, gulping. ' _This will be tough_.'

"I warned you Hiccup, to beat me, you must learn to use your cards in a way that you've never used before!" Amnael patted the Tome under his shirt. "If you do not learn to become a better duellist than you ever been before, if not you will be joining your friends!"

"Oh, I'll be joining them all right," Hiccup glared. "When I free them."

Amnael chuckled. "Then you had better put in your card where your mouth is Hiccup, because you have already fallen far behind, and are about to fall even further. Observe!" he drew his card. "I activate the Spell card, White Process - Albedo! Thanks to it, I can now summon Golden Homunculus!"

Everyone watched as a huge pillar of fire poured out of the earth. It was a gigantic, golden golem who appeared alongside the Alchemy Beasts. (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)

"Forged in fire, Golden Homunculus doesn't work like any other card you've seen," Amnael stated. "His attack and defence points now rise to the number of my cards that are removed from play and multiplied by 300! So, since I've removed thirteen cards from play, his attack and defense points increase by 3900…" he chuckled. "And your Life Points are about to become zero!"

The giant gained a light aura feeding off the power of the forgotten cards. (ATK: 0-3900/DEF: 0-3900)

"It is over Hiccup, and I was expecting so much more from you. Now, go my Alchemy Beasts, attack him directly! Sonic Shears, Screaming Stream, and Shockwave Slivers!"

The three Beasts let loose a mixture of high-pressured water, glowing scythe-like objects, and a raging fire blast that connected with Hiccup hard.

Hiccup: 1000

Amnael: 4000

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs cried out.

"Man, he got nailed!" Tuffnut stared.

"But I'm not finished yet…" Amnael raised his arm. "Golden Homunculus, attack! Stone Shard Storm!"

The giant golem roared and fired a rain of heavy slabs of gold onto Meatlug. The Dragon Knight was bombarded by the shards. Hiccup's field was engulfed with thick smoke after the attack.

Amnael looked at the carnage. "You are beaten and—" he paused and peered closer. "Hm?"

Hiccup's laugh was heard as the smoke cleared, revealing that Meatlug wasn't destroyed at all.

Hiccup: 2400

Amnael: 4000

"How did you survive!" Amnael demanded.

"Sybil I activate my trap card, Nutrient Z," said Hiccup gesturing to his revealed trap card. "You see since I was about to take over 2000 points of damage this card increase to my life points by 4000 before your attack hit. Then I activate it Meatlug's ability allowing me to discard one card from my hand to keep her on the field."

"Impressive…" Amnael nodded slowly.

"I'm not done!" Hiccup drew his card. "I play Monster Reborn in order to bring back Dragon Knight Stormfly in attack mode and I follow that up by playing Dragon Knight Fanghook also in attack mode!"

Suddenly both the powerful female knight and the fiery young youth appeared on the field. (ATK: 2000/ DEF: 1900), (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 800)

"All right guys, let's take out some of these monsters!" Hiccup pointed to Eatos. "Go, Stormfly! Dragon Axe!"

Stormfly leapt into the air and swung her act creating a hailstorm of wind at Eatos.

"Go, Elemental Absorber!" Amnael held up a card. "I remove Garuda the Wind Spirit to negate your attack!" He declared as his device spun around again until a right side-up triangle appeared, green with a stripe near the top.

A veil of whirling air appeared between Eatos and the Stormfly's attack, stopping the attack instantly.

"And, since another card has just been removed from play, my Golden Homunculus gains another 300 attack and defense points!"

(ATK: 3900-4200/DEF: 3900-4200)

"Yeah, yeah…" Hiccup had a plan as he glanced at his youngest knight. "Now go, Fanghook! Flame Uppercut!"

Fanghook swung his mace sending a fireball at the other side.

"I remove Spirit of Flames to negate your attack!" Amnael declared as a bright red triangle appeared from his Absorber, just before a wall of flames met the fireball, canceling it out.

(ATK: 4200-4500/DEF: 4200-4500)

"Aw man," Fishlegs shook his head. "Nothing's getting through to do damage!"

Ruffnut nodded. "It's all because of that Elemental Absorber keeps cancelling out his attacks."

"What's Hiccup doing?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup grinned at his friend's words. "Guys, no worries! This just means I gotta use something other than my Dragon Knight then," he plucked a card from his hand had a picture of Stormfly surrounded by some sort of tornado. "I play Dragon Tornado! When Stormfly's on the field, this card allows me to recall all other Dragon Knight back to my hand! That means it's time to come home, guys!"

Meatlug, Scaldy and Fanghook nodded before vanishing from the field and appearing Hiccup's hand once again.

"Next, I'll activate the Spell card Spine Shot!" Hiccup held up another card this time with picture of Stormfly unleashing a barrage of spikes. "Now, all other monsters out besides Stormfly are destroyed, and you take 300 points of damage for each of them! Go, Sine Shot!"

Stromfly roared at the top of her voice and there are thousands of spikes surrounded her. She then turned our eyes upon Amnael's field and suddenly they all flew straight towards his monsters were destroyed them all.

Amnael yelped in pain as his Life Points decreased. Before the smoke wafted away, a large crack in Amnael's mask appeared.

Hiccup: 2400

Amnael: 2800

"He did it!" Ruffnut cheered.

"Now that's a move!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Good going," Fishlegs nodded.

A loud mewling sound made the group of spectators look down to see Pharaoh standing under them.

"Aw, you're here to help cheer Hiccup on?" Fishlegs smiled as he picked the cat up. "C'mon, you can watch with me."

Pharaoh mewled angrily and slashed Fishlegs across the face with his sharp claws. Fishlegs cried out in pain and dropped the cat, who bounded away, heading straight for Amnael, everyone watching him closely.

"No, Pharaoh!" Hiccup waved his arm, hoping to catch the cat's attention. "That guy's dangerous!"

The running to Amnael bit surprised everyone a little, but what really shocked them was that Pharaoh began rubbing up against Amnael's boot.

"Um…" Hiccup blinked, confused. "Pharaoh?"

Tuffnut stared at the cat. "What's going on?"

Fishlegs shook his head. "Pharaoh's never that friendly with strangers!"

"Then why is he treating the Shadow Rider at his best friend?" Ruffnut asked.

Hiccup nodded. "That's right… so Amnael is…"

"No stranger to Pharaoh, or to you," Amnael finished reaching up for his mask.

Everyone watched as Amnael slowly lifted his cracked mask off his face and lowered it.

Fishlegs shook his head. "It… can't be."

"No way…" Tuffnut gasped.

"Professor Banner?" Ruffnut yelped.

There, standing not five feet away from Hiccup, wearing the custom duel disk, and holding the book that held their friends captive, was the head of Slifer Red dorm! There was no mistake. The glasses were the same, the hair was the same style, but white, and aside the thick veins the face was the same.

Banner was the final Shadow Rider.

"Wait a minute!" Hiccup pointed to the dried out corpse behind the group. "If you're Banner… then who's that mummy?" he asked slowly.

Banner chuckled as he bent down and began to pet Pharaoh. "That mummy is also me," he looked at them all as he picked up the cat. "Oh, my children, there is more going on here than you can possibly imagine… but the truth will be revealed soon enough!"

* * *

Dragon Tornado

Spell Card

Activated only when you have a face up Dragon Knight Stormfly on the field. All monsters with "Dragon Knight" in their name are returned to the owner's hand.

Card image: Stormfly surrounded by some sort of tornado.

Spine Shot

Spell Card

Activated only when you have a face up Dragon Knight Stormfly on the field. All monsters apart from Dragon Knight Stormfly are destroyed and the opponent takes 300 points of damage each card destroyed by this effect.

Card image: Stormfly unleashing a barrage of spikes.


	47. Amnael's Endgame Part 2

"You mean to tell me you're behind this," Hiccup glared. His eyes then widened. "This was what Ragnar was trying to tell me before he vanished."

"Clever boy that Ragnar," Banner smiled. "And indeed I am the one who's been behind all this, but before I beat you I might as well tell you the whole story."

"This ought to be good," said Hiccup.

"Like you, Hiccup, I was once a duellist with unlimited potential. I scoured the world for the most rarest and most powerful cards," Banner shot a glance at the group. "Finally, my travels led me to the ultimate prize, deep under an ancient desert, a lost and forgotten tomb was found. Within it, was a duellists dream! The very first Duel Monster cards!"

Pharaoh mewled and Banner continued to pet him.

"Like Pegasus, years before, I sought out their powers. But the tomb was cursed, and science had no explanation for the magic which ravaged my body. I tried everything, but I soon realized that there was only one thing to be done," he stopped petting Pharaoh and held up a hand, "I had to create a new body. Therefore, I used alchemy to create a homunculus, an artificial life form, and I put my own soul inside of it."

"Uh… say what?" Tuffnut stared, confused.

"Come again," said Ruffnut.

Banner reached up and lightly scratched his cheek, causing what looked like clay to crumble down his chin. "But, this body is only temporary. It won't be long until I am nothing but dust in the wind. You see, my children, I don't have much time left."

"Wait a minute," Hiccup interrupted. "You're saying… that you're a clone?"

"And to live I need the power of these cards, the divine Sacred Beats."

"Even if you end up destroying the world in the process?" said Hiccup clenching his fists. "Sorry, Banner, but I can't let you do that!"

"Too late, Hiccup, because once you lose those cards are mine!"

"Then…" Hiccup lowered his head. "I won't duel," he murmured.

Banner smirked slightly. "Oh, yes you will," he bent down and let Pharaoh go, "you forget your friends remain my prisoners. If you walk away, their souls will become mine for eternity! You have no choice, you have to duel me! Pretended your final exam!"

"Since I don't have a choice, alright then!" Hiccup hissed at him. "Bring it on!"

Hiccup: 2400

Banner: 2800

Banner drew his card. "I play Chaos Greed! It works like this: if there are no cards in my Graveyard, and if four of mine are out of play, I'm allowed to draw two times!" he explained, drawing again. "And both draws are placed face down." He as two facedowns appeared, leaving him with nothing in his hand.

' _Banner doesn't have any cards in his hand, but with that Elemental Absorber on the field, he can stop any of my attacks! I need a Dark or Light monster! If I ever needed a lucky draw, this is it!_ ' Hiccup thought as he drew his card. "I play my Spell card Pot of Greed!" he drew two new cards, giving him five.

"I play Polymerization to fuse my Dragon Knight's Fanghook and Torch in order to form Dragon Knight Archer!"

Then appearing on the field was the blazing archer field. (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1200)

"And now I activate a special ability which allows me to destroy one spell or trap card on your side of the field and I choose you're Elemental Absorber!"

Archer then fired an arrow that struck Banner's trusty Trap card.

"And now I get to draw card," said Hiccup as he drew another card.

"Quite impressive," he coughed, lowering his arm. "But I'm afraid that it'll take a whole lot more to get your friends back."

Hiccup scowled, "You want more? You got it! Dragon Knight's Stormfly and Archer, attack!"

"Fool!" Banner yelled as Stormfly charge towards him and Archer aimed an arrow, "It will be me who will take you to the Great Beyond! I activate Macro Cosmos! This Trap card destroys Chaos Distill from play and now, I'll be removing you from this world!" he declared as his distill glowed bright red, then white just before exploding in a very bright explosion.

Everyone covered their eyes and ears as the entire room was engulfed with a blinding white light. After what seemed like forever, the sound of the explosion died down and the bright light went away. Everyone lowered their arms and was stunned to find that they were no longer in the lab underneath the Abandoned Dorm, but in the vastness of space itself.

Banner smiled at their reaction. "The power of Alchemy flows through me, and it has broken our earthly bonds and taken us here!"

"Well, it's not gonna shake me," Hiccup snapped at him, his focus coming back.

"Then, perhaps, this will, Hiccup," Banner held up a card. "Thanks to Macro Cosmos, I can now summon this card: Helios - The Primordial Sun!"

A strange monster appeared between Hiccup and Banner. It's head was replaced with a small sun, while it's body… while it didn't look like it had much physical features, it was wrapped up in gauze like a mummy, some of the gauze unwound. (ATK: ?/DEF: ?)

Banner saw the Slifers' confused looks they gave Helios and answered. "The attack and defence of my Helios depends for each monster removed from play, she gains 100 points! So since I have eleven monsters removed…" he trailed off as Helios gained power. (ATK: 0-1100/DEF: 1100)

Hiccupwas about to say something when three oddly coloured bubbles came out of nowhere and began to close in. While he had never seen the bubbles before, he could see something inside… something, or rather someone, that he had seen before and knew all too well.

"Snotlout!" he yelled as Snotlout banged hard on his bubble prison. He then looked at the other occupants inside the remaining bubbles, who were out cold. "Astrid! Ragnar! Heather! Gobber! Agnar!"

"Don't bother screaming out their names, children, they can't hear you," Banner glanced back at his captives. They're my prisoners now, much like you all will be for all eternity!"

He reached into his robes and pulled out the strange book, "Face it, Hiccup, this Tome is your destiny now! Soon, you will be locked within its pages! A prisoner, a pathetic footnote to my saga of my ascension to greatness! Don't you see Hiccup, you cannot beat me. You do not have what it takes, you and your friends are finished!"

Banner lowered the book and ran his hand over it. "I've paid for this book with my flesh and blood… I won't lose it a Slifer Red Slacker!"

"Hey!" Hiccup glared at him. "Have you forgotten all the matches I've won?"

"You would have a little pawn in my game," Banner smirked. "All your matches were… fixed so you will be given a key and had to face me." He opened his eyes to reveal startling red eyes glaring at them all. "You see, you're nothing but a loser, Hiccup!"

Hiccup growled. "All of it? Spitelout and the Shadow Games? It was all just a big setup to make me seem like a great duellist so that I would get a Spirit Key to protect?"

"Correct," said Banner. "Now on with the Duel!" He pressed a button on his disk, his second facedown revealing itself. "I play Planet Alignment!"

To make this place even stranger, the planets around them lined up with Helios and everyone could see, as well as feel, the air around them become all distorted. It caused everyone see things in a very, very strange way.

"This card is so powerful…" Banner's voice changed from its normal tone to a distorted deep voice as his face swirled around. "It can warp time and space itself, and it destroys all your monsters, dealing you 300 points of damage!"

Hiccup turned as Stormfly and Archer were destroyed instantly.

Hiccup: 2100

Banner: 2800

As Hiccup started to recover, the planets went back to their normal places and the air went back to normal.

Hiccup slipped a card into his disk. "I guess I'll just throw down two face-downs and end my turn."

"Very well, my turn now," Banner drew his card. "I activate Yellow Process - Kitolinix! But, this card is also a handful, Hiccup, for with this card, I sacrifice Helios - The Primordial Sun for Helios Duos Megistus!"

Helios Duos did looked a lot like the first Helios, but instead of its thin body and one sun for a head, it had a fatter body, and two suns on top, a small one orbiting the larger one. (ATK: ?/DEF: ?)

"Now, for each monster removed from play, Helios Duos Megistus gains 200 attack and defence points!" Banner explained as his monster glowed. "Since there are twelve monsters removed from play, Duos Megistus gains 2400 points!"

(ATK: 0-2400/DEF: 0-2400)

"Now attack!" Banner pointed to Hiccup. "Solar Singer!"

Everyone watched as Duos Megistus' body was soon covered by a swirling mass of fire that soon launched itself straight towards Hiccup's defenceless field.

"I play my facedown, Dragon Knight Reinforcements! Now I just draw one card and if it's a Dragon Knight then I can summon it!"

"One card?" Banner smirked. "It won't save you."

"That remains to be seen," said Hiccup as he drew. He then looked at it and smiled. "I summon Dragon Knight Grump in attack mode!"

Suddenly the mighty warrior used against Gustav appeared on the field. (ATK: 2100/ DEF: 2400)

"He's still too weak," said Banner.

"But the thing is thanks to Grump's ability all Dragon-types on the field gain 500 points and since he's considered a Dragon-type that means he gets the power boost too."

Grump roared as his power increased. (ATK: 2100-2600)

"All right!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Monster has another attack points to withstand Banner's attack!" Ruffnut grinned.

"Now that's a move," said Tuffnut.

"Looks like you will be attacking me any time soon," said Hiccup.

"Not quite, because I'm still continuing my attack," said Banner.

"What?"

Duos Megistus' attack charge straight towards Grump, who swatted away with his hammer. He then shot right through the flames and slammed his hammer right on top of her.

Hiccup: 2100

Banner: 2600

Banner then recovered from the shock wave and looked straight towards Hiccup.

"And now, I will activate Duos Megistus' ability! You see Hiccup, if she is destroyed, she is instantly resurrected with an extra 300 attack points!"

Helios Duo Megistus reappeared, looking stronger than ever.

(ATK: 2400-2700/DEF: 2400-2700)

"Now Helios Duo Megistus attack again with Solar Singer!"

Duo Megistus attacked again and this time Grump was the one that was destroyed by the flames.

Hiccup: 2000

Banner: 2600

"You planned that," said Hiccup. "You wanted me to destroy her."

"Yes, because now she can destroy you," Banner smirked.

Hiccup then drew. "I summon Dragon Knight Cloudjumper in attack mode!"

Cloudjumper appeared on the field looking quite stern. (ATK: 2000/ DEF: 100)

"If I can't attack your monster out right, then I'll simply go behind her," said Hiccup. "Because by lowering Cloudjumper's attack points by 400 he they would apply past your monsters in attack you directly. Now go, Cloud Slice!"

Cloudjumper then jumped into the air holding several daggers. (ATK: 2000-1600). He then tossed them straight at Banner, who nearly toppled over as they struck him.

Hiccup: 2000

Banner: 1000

"And the best part is that once he attacks he switches to defence mode," said Hiccup as Cloudjumper switched to a kneeling position.

"Impressive, perhaps you're not the loser I thought you were," said Banner.

"Well, if this is my real duel then I'm going to make it my best," Hiccup smirked.

"It is a real duel and it will be your last," said Banner. "Your main problem is that you lack the strength and skill! Look at me." He held up his arms. "Look at my power! It's cosmic… you cannot defeat me!" he grinned wickedly. "You'd be better off joining me… yes, as my servant, perhaps. What do you think?"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Hiccup denied the place a card facedown. "I'm staying with my friends!"

"And very soon, Hiccup… you'll be joining these friends of yours in Oblivion! Just watch," Banner drew his next card. "First I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He then drew his two cards. He then revealed one of them that had the image of a planet sending a shockwave of sorts. "And now I activate Planetary Force, thanks to this card all your monsters are switched to the opposite position there now in." Hiccup watched in horror as Cloudjumper stood up. "Megistus, attack Cloudjumper!" He ordered.

For the third time, Duos was soon covered by flames and propelled itself at Hiccup's Knight.

"No way, not this time!" Hiccup pressed a button. His face down revealed itself to be a track card with the image of a dragon attacking some sort of illusion of itself. "I'm playing my facedown card, Dragon Illusion!"

Even as the attack ensued, something happened. Cloudjumper appeared on Banner's side, while Duos appeared on Hiccup's field.

Fishlegs blinked at the sudden change. "You see that? Their monsters traded sides…"

"That's the power of Dragon Illusion, you see when you attacked a Dragon-type I can activate this card and our monsters switch positions until the end of the turn," Hiccup explained grinning slightly. "So now, Mrs Tall, Fried and Fiery is playing on my team!"

Banner smirked slightly and held up a card. "I play a Spell card known as Grand Convergence!"

Once again, the vastness of space around them all was distorted, as well as Banner's voice.

"It's powerful gravity waves destroys all monsters on the field, and deals 300 points of damage to you, Hiccup!"

Knopse and Banner's Helios was destroyed off of the field.

Hiccup: 1700

Banner: 1000

"Then, I'll have Megistus return with even more attack points!" Banner cried as his monster to return to the field. (ATK: 0-3000/DEF: 0-3000)

"Megistus Attack!"

"Not so fast, I play Dragon Knight Sharpshot in defence mode," said Hiccup at the young knight appeared on his field in a defence position. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200). "You see by playing him your turn automatically comes to an end."

"Not bad," said Banner.

"It gets better," said Hiccup as he drew. He looked at his hand, but right now all we could do was play defensive. "I summon Dragon Knight Scaldy in defence mode and end my turn."

The aqua knight once again reappeared in a defence position this time. (ATK: 800/DEF: 1000)

"Yep, that's what I woulda done," said Tuffnut, nodding slowly.

Hiccup grit his teeth. 'That's _all I could do! After all, I just can't seem to beat that Megistus. Every time I beat it, it just comes back stronger than before!_ '

"My turn now," Banner drew his next card and looked at it. "If you thought that Duos Megistus was formidable, just you wait!" he inserted the card into his disk. "I play Red Process - Rubedo, and with it, I sacrifice Helios Duos Megistus to summon Helios Tris Megistus!"

This time, there were three smaller copies of Helios - The Primordial Sun that appeared on Banner's field. (ATK: ?/DEF: ?)

"Now, Hiccup, for every monster removed from play, Tris Megistus gains 300 attack and defense points, and since thirteen monsters have been removed from play so far…"

(ATK: 0-3900/DEF: 0-3900)

"3900?" Hiccup gawked at the strength of the new trio of monsters.

"It's a shame you don't duel as well as you add," Banner snapped at him. "Now, Tris Megistus, attack with Phoenix Flare!"

His three-in-one monsters' bodies were covered completely by an incredibly flame which combined themselves into an almighty form of a great Phoenix before ramming themselves into Scaldy, making the Knight bite the bullet.

"I've still got plenty to defend against with," said Hiccup.

Banner just smirked. "You so sure, because I get to attack again, Hiccup! Due to Tris Megistus very special ability…"

"What?" Hiccup stared in awe as the Megistus trio flared up again.

"Phoenix Flare!"

Seconds later, Sharpshot was blasted away by Helios Tris Megistus, leaving him wide open once again.

' _This isn't good…_ ' Hiccup looked up through the dying flames, ' _I got nothing to protect me for long, and if I am able to summon out anything, that thing will just attack and destroy it!_ ' He thought, looking at Tris Megistus.

 _'For the first time in my life, I don't see how I can win! What am I supposed to do?_ _I have no strategy to go with them. But if I don't win, then me and all my friends are finished!_ '

"Hehehe. Goodbye, Hiccup…" Banner closed his eyes and smirked. "This has been quite a year."

"I'm not done," Hiccup said quickly, refusing to let his true turmoil be shown.

' _Or maybe I am. What if everything Banner said was true? What if I'd been set up on my first day here? Maybe I was never a good duellist? Maybe the Professor set everything up so I could win all those matches? Snotlout… the Paradox Brothers… Astrid, even Speedfist! The Academy would think I was great_. _The stubborn one like a boy who never gave up._ ' He thought.

 _'Spitelout, Gobber and my dad would have no choice but to give me a Spirit Key… a Key that held the fate of the world…_ ' he slowly turned around and looked at his watching friends.

He thought about everything that's happened.

He shook his head at those memories. ' _No! I have friends here! Friends who would risk their lives to help me! Even if I'm some pawn, I believe in my friends, and I believe in my deck!_ '

Banner watched Hiccup closely. _'All of your training and all of your matches have led up to this, the moment of truth…'_ he took a deep breath and exhaled quietly. ' _Make your move Hiccup… and make me proud!_ ' he thought with a very small smile.

Hiccup looked back at his friends, and he could swear that along with them, he could see images of everyone he had met. Astrid, Ragnar, Heather, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, Speedfist, Agnar and Spitelout.

Smiling, he turned and looked down at his disk, sensing the all but familiar presence of Toothless behind him.

Hiccup drew the top card of his disk as he shouted. "It's my move!"

He saw what it was and grinned.

"I activate Graceful Charity! Which allows me to draw three so long as I discard two," said Hiccup as he drew his three cards. He looked at them and discarded Meatlug and Toothless. "I now play Dragon Knight Fusion!" Hiccup announced showing a card with the image of two Dragon Knight fusing together. "By returning certain material monsters from either the field or in the graveyard I can fusion summon. So I return Toothless and Stormfly to the deck in order to play—"

Toothless and Stormfly appeared on the field before swirling together to create a more powerful knight. This Dragon Knight was wearing gold armour and was well built, like all Dragon Knight's his armour was extremely Dragon like. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000)

"Dragon Knight Paladin!" Hiccup yelled. "And Paladin has got quite the special ability."

Paladin then began to glow and Banner looked down at his disk in horror as all the removed monsters were being sucked into his deck.

"All of my monsters… what's going on? They're returning to my deck!"

"Just the ones removed from play," Hiccup explained. "So, with no more removed monsters, Helios' attack points are back to zero!"

(ATK: 3900-0/DEF: 3900-0)

"Even though it really doesn't matter, Paladin also gains 100 ATK points for each monster returned like this…"

"And with thirteen that's 1300 ATK points!" Fishlegs exclaimed as Paladin glowed. (ATK: 3000-4300)

"And now I attack with Royal Dragon Glow!"

Paladin glowed in a blinding bright light, covering the field as his rays shined on Megistus, blowing them all to pieces one by one.

Hiccup: 1700 (Winner!"

Banner: 0

Banner screamed as the field returned to normal, the gang returning to the lab and the mystical Tome fell to the floor, the eye symbol breaking into small bits and pieces.

As Hiccup's disk turned itself off, the whole room began to shake violently.

At that very moment, the eight Spirit Gates closed and the laser beams of light that surrounded the island disappeared.

One by one, the duellists held captive in Banner's Tome started to return. Astrid, Heather, Snotlout and Gobber appeared back at the spots they were defeated at and Agnar appeared back in his room, unconscious. Ragnar appeared right beside Hiccup and his eyes began to stir.

"You did it," he wheezed.

"It's finally over," said Hiccup quietly.

Banner coughed. "Hiccup," he took a breath. "Listen carefully to me, my children. Hiccup, I lied to you."

"Did I miss something?" Ragnar asked as the twins lifted him onto their shoulders.

"We'll explain later," said Fishlegs.

"Hiccup, you won all those other duels," Banner lifted his head, parts of his face crumbling away, "I said you didn't to test you… and to prepare you for the real evil to come. That is why I became a Shadow Rider. Not to take over the world, but to stop the one who was truly trying to. To stop him, by forcing you to be a better duellist, Hiccup, so you can face him and hopefully, defeat him."

Banner held up his hand and tried to catch the pieces of clay flesh that tumbled down his face. "You see, the threat is so grave, I had to deceive you," he made a small smile and looked at them all. "My children, I hope you can forgive me…"

Banner picked up his Tome and held it out to Hiccup. "Take this, my boy…"

"But…" Hiccup reached for it and took it by one end. "This is your book."

"It is mine no longer… as I am no longer… apart of… this world…"

Those were Banner's final words before his whole body crumbled into nothing. The only thing that now sat in his place was his robes, and a large pile of dirt and clods. At that moment, the mummy of Banner's original body disintegrated.

Hiccup looked at the coffin. "It's over… he's really gone…"

"So, what do we do now?" Fishlegs asked, turning to Hiccup.

Ragnar looked them. "Well, from what Banner said I guess we should be on the lookout for some terrible evil that wants to take over the world and possibly destroy us while he's at it."

"Okay, but when aren't we doing that?" Fishlegs asked.

"Point taken." Said Ragnar weakly.

Hiccup shook his head as he stared at the Tome. "No… this is different you guys," he looked up at his friends. "Banner gave his life to prepare us for this evil that's coming…" he looked back down and ran his hand along the edges of the book.

' _I just hope we're ready, because whatever we're about to face is unlike anything we've seen before!_ ' He thought, looking up at the ceiling.

While the other Slifers watched their friend leave, no one noticed that a ball of light had emerged from Banner's remains. They also didn't know that Pharaoh opened his mouth widely and swallowed the orb, making it rest within him.

* * *

Dragon Knight Paladin

ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2000

10 stars

LIGHT

Warrior/Fusion/Effect

Dragon Knight Toothless + one Warrior-Type

This card cannot be special summoned, except for by fusion summon. This card is treated as a Dragon-Type well face up on the field or in the Graveyard. When this card is fusion summoned with turn all removed from play cards to the owners decks and for each card returned this card gains 100 attack points.

Dragon Knight Fusion

Spell Card

Fusion Summon 1 "Dragon Knight" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, by returning Fusion Materials listed on it from your side of the field or your Graveyard to your Deck.

Card image: Two silhouettes of Dragon Knights fusing together in a vortex.

Dragon Illusion

Trap Card

When an opponent's monster declares an attack targeting a face-up Dragon-type monster you control: Switch control of the opponent's attacking monster with the targeted monster you control, then calculate damage. Control of both monsters switches back during the End Phase.

Card image: a dragon attacking some sort of illusion of itself.

Planetary Force

Spell Card

Activate only if you control a face-up "Helios - The Primordial Sun". Which the battle position of all monsters your opponent controls.

Card image: planet sending a gravity wave.


	48. Snot-anova

Snotlout found himself standing in a large empty black space. He was hovering around, not sure where to go. He was lost.

"Snotlout…" a soothing beautiful voice called to him. "Snotlout… wake up, Snotlout, it's Astrid. I want to tell you how much you mean to me… how much I love you. Wake up! Wake up!"

* * *

"Wake up! Boss, wake up!"

Snotlout's eyes popped open and started painting heavily as the first thing he saw was Ojama Yellow floating right over his face.

The yellow spirit leaned in close. "What's wrong with ya, Snotlout? You looked like were you dreaming of Romeo?"

' _My new love_.' He thought.

* * *

With all the Shadow Rider members being defeated, Hiccup and the others thought that they would enjoy some peace and quiet... but that wasn't the case right now. As Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs walked through the courtyard, heading for the main building, dozens, if not hundreds of students from each dorm stood on either side of the cement path, cheering and rooting for them.

"Way to go, Hiccup!"

"Way to stick it to those Shadow Riders!"

"Totally!"

Hiccup grinned and waved at the crowd. "Thank you! Thank you! No thanks are necessary!" They had done it and protected the Spirit Keys.

Fishlegs looked from side to side. "Check it out, guys… Everyone thinks we're heroes!"

"Actually, they think Hiccup's the hero," Ragnar corrected, listening to the cheers.

* * *

Back on Duel Academy's roof, the Ojama Spirits were talking amongst themselves.

"What's up with Snotlout?" Black asked Yellow.

"Do you think he found a lost billion dollars?" Blue asked.

"Or maybe he took down some loser!" Red added.

"You won't believe it!" Yellow exclaimed. "The Boss thinks he's in love!"

"He's in love?" Green asked.

"Yep…"

Ojama Black, Ojama Blue, Ojama Red, Ojama Green and Ojama Yellow turned to see Snotlout sitting up.

"That's right…" he said, looking around the area he was sitting on. "So, I don't have any time you guys."

He then pulled out his deck and at once gutted his card to the wind forcing the Ojama's the fly off away with them.

"She has my heart now," he sighed. ' _Astrid, and I know she feels the same way. It wasn't just a dream when Astrid and I were trapped in that weird vortex I felt her heart. There, in the blackness of space, the eternity of time, her soul told me she loved me, that we would be destined to be together._ ' He then blinked. ' _Okay… maybe it in tell me, but it was in the air and I felt it, we both belong together._ '

He then clenched his fists. "But who does he hang out with? It either her big bro, Agnar or even worse… Hiccup."

Snotlout turned away and looked towards the docks. There, he saw a few familiar figures. Squinting, he got a better look at them. There, on the dock, was Astrid, along with Heather and Wolflegs.

"Oh yeah… Wolflegs too." He then clenched his fists even more firmly. "So much competition, this might be tough."

Snotlout took in their forms, finding his face heating up as he took in their appearances. They were

* * *

Down at the docks, Astrid, Heather and Wolflegs were talking about previous stuff…

"I'm glad you two are okay."

"Okay?" Astrid glanced at Wolflegs. ""We were taken hostage by some clone of someone who I thought was our Professor!"

"It was terrifying!" Heather shuddered.

Wolflegs chuckled lightly. "Yeah, but things like that aren't too uncommon around here, ya know?" he turned and smiled a little. "Maybe… you two need a bodyguard?" he offered.

Astrid turned and looked Wolflegs in the eye. "Oh? You think so? Well, thanks, but no thanks; I can handle myself, just fine. And Heather's a trained fighter…"

Wolflegs shrugged. "Point taken. Though wasn't it Hiccup that seems to keep on rescuing you."

Astrid cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, but I don't want you to rescue me every single time." She turned back to Wolflegs, who took amusement in this. "Even so, it's nice to know that you care."

"Astrid," Woflegs' smile widened by a small fragment. "I'll miss you once I graduate from here."

Astrid smiled and looked away, feeling her cheeks go warm.

"You gonna miss me, too?" Heather grinned, teasingly.

"Yeah, I am…" he admitted. Clearing his throat, Wolflegs looked back out at the ocean. "So, uh, your brother's back to normal, now, huh?"

Astrid scoffed. "Yeah, if you can call that normal…" she shook her head.

* * *

' _How can I get her to notice me?_ '

Snotlout sat on the beach, staring at the waves and moping as a large crab scuttled sideways as the tide went back and forth.

His answer came in the form of a young man with long, blonde hair, wearing a wetsuit and riding a surfboard.

Snotlout stared wide eyed. "Agnar! Why that it, he'll help me!"

"Hang ten, Snot-dude!"

Snotlout snapped to reality at Agnar's words, just as Ruffnut sped past him in their bikinis, squealing at the top of their lungs.

"Autograph please?" Ruffnut asked shyly, holding out a large notebook.

Agnar smiled and grabbed the notebook. "Sure no problem," he said as he wrote into the paper before handing it back. "There ya go."

Both girls looked at what he had written and squealed.

"He wrote B.F.F!" she cried.

"That's right babe. It means…" Agnar raised a finger to the beautiful sky, smiling a charm smile at her. "Best Friends Forever!"

Ruffnut squealed before falling backward onto the sand, fainting.

Agnar shook his head, still smiling. "That always seems to happen…"

Snotlout was standing behind and just gaped at the unconscious Ruffnut. ' _This guy is a chick magnet and Astrid's brother. He's my way in_.' he thought.

"Agnar!" Snotlout said as he fell to his hands and knees, head bowed to the surfing Obelisk. "Ya gotta help me! Please!"

Atticus looked down at Snotlout, a bewildered look on his face. "Huh?"

* * *

Later, after much explaining, Snotlout and Agnar sat on the beach, looking out at the sunset.

Angar only had one thing to say in response. "So, you want to date with my sister?" said Agnar. "You do realise that she's seeing Hiccup, right?"

"What's he got that I haven't got?" Snotlout asked indignantly.

"A fake leg?"

Snotlout just glared at him. "Kidding. Look, Snotlout, if you want to date her you've got to impress…" he then thought for moment. "Yeah, in a duel!"

"So I just duel Hiccup?" Snotlout smirked.

"No, that didn't work so well for Harold, he tried to duel Hiccup for Astrid had in marriage. I mean duel Astrid that seems to how she fell for Hiccup after all. Of course, that if you let all your cards tell her just what you're feeling."

Snotlout looks slightly embarrassed. "I—ditched my cards."

"Guess again!" cried a familiar voice. Snotlout turned and saw the Ojama brothers flying towards him. Yellow looked up at him happily. "We put your deck back together, boss."

"I put it together, knuckleheads," said Black.

Snotlout then saw Pharaoh making his way towards him with his deck in his mouth. Snotlout grabbed the deck.

"My deck," he said and then looked at the Ojamas.

"Yeah, now we're talking," said Agnar snatching the deck. Agnar began examining the cards and shook his head. "No, no, no, this is not cool at all. Snotlout, you need some love cards."

" _Love?_ "

* * *

That night, in his office, Stoick was putting away some documents into his bag, ready to leave for the night.

He snapped his head to the side, eyes scanning the room. ""Who's there?" he asked loudly.

No answer.

"That's odd. I could've sworn I just heard…" he stopped and shook his head, and then reached under his desk and pulled out the case that now held the Nine Spirit Keys. After making sure they were safely in the case, he sighed in relief. "Still there…"

' _But with that threat that Hiccup were warned about by the last Shadow Rider, we can't be too careful…_ ' Stoick thought as he looked for a new hideaway for the vital keys. Quietly, he closed the case and walked over to a nearby potted tree. He picked up said tree and placed the box under the roots and soil before lowering the tree back down.

With that, Stoick grabbed his bag off his desk, walked towards his door, turned off the light and passed through the sliding doors.

The moment he left, Snotlout emerged from the side door and slowly made his way over towards the desk. Then out of nowhere someone jumped right in front of him in some sort of ninja outfit.

He nearly yelled, but the stranger quickly placed his hand over his mouth. He then got a good look and discovered it was Agnar.

"You're late," he said. He then released Snotlout. "Now then, let's do this."

* * *

The next morning, Stoick discovered the theft of the Spirit Keys.

"The Spirit Keys are missing!" he cried.

At once all the former Gate Keepers, except Snotlout, along with Fishlegs and the twins began searching for the culprit. Fortunately, the culprit left a note telling them where they were and who it was.

So they ran straight towards the beach and their standing in front of them, with the Spirit Keys dangling around his neck was Snotlout.

"Okay, Snotlout, mind explain why you stole the keys?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, the jokes over," said Astrid furiously. "Give us the Keys, Snotlout!"

"Not yet," said Snotlout.

"Uh… when then?"

"When you—and I duel," said Snotlout duel. "So, let's go Astrid."

Everyone stared at him.

"What? Why do you want to duel her?" Hiccup frowned.

"Because—I'm in love! Got it!" Snotlout yelled. "And Astrid is too… she just doesn't know it yet, but soon she will."

Everyone just added him dumbfounded.

"Snotlout," said Astrid furiously. "Why do you think that?"

"Because I told him so," said a voice.

They turned and saw Agnar, who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and playing the ukulele, as he floated towards them on a boat.

"How would you know?" Wolflegs asked sceptically.

"Because I know her," said Agnar honestly, "and, dear little sis, needs a helping hand with her love life." Everyone stared at him. "Come on, he stole the Spirit Keys just for you."

"Where does he get this stuff?" said Ragnar rubbing his temple.

"I don't want to know," said Hiccup.

Astrid glared at her brother. ' _Times like this, I wish he was still back in a coma._ ' she thought to herself. "In case you've forgotten, I've already got a boyfriend!"

"Ah, but who love you more?" Agnar smiled and Astrid groaned.

Wolflegs pinched the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb. "Anyone up for just tackling him?" he asked.

"Not a bad thought," said Hiccup.

"What's the hold-up?" Snotlout demanded.

Astrid's sighed. ' _I guess one duel couldn't hurt_.'

"Come on!" Agnar yelled.

"Fine!" she said and everyone stared at her. "I'll duel… whatever…"

"Yeah!" Snotlout yelled triumphantly.

"You've got her now, Snotlout!" Agnar yelled joyfully.

"One thing, even if I lose this the keys go back," said Astrid firmly.

"All right, but then I get something to take their place," said Snotlout crossing his arms with a slightly dreamy look on his face. "You as a girlfriend, then we can hold hands, take walks, kiss… that's the deal."

Everyone just stared at him in disgust.

"Fine," said Astrid, trying to resist the urge to strangle him, and slapped on her duel disk and activated it. "That's the deal, but it's not going to happen. Now let's do this, Snotlout."

"I will," said Snotlout activating his duel disk, "and I'll show you, that you love me."

"Let's duel!"

Astrid: 4000

Snotlout: 4000

"Here goes," said Snotlout as he drew his first card. "All right, I'll start with Ojama Yellow!"

"Hi, there, boss, think you're cute!" Yellow cried as he appeared on the field. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 1000)

"And after two facedowns, I'll play the Spell Card, Love Letter," said Snotlout. "And here is how it works. First off, if I've got a facedown and a monster sitting on my field you get a gift. You see either my monster or my facedown card becomes yours, aren't I sweet? Yeah, I know and that's just the first of a lot of gifts you're getting from me. The Snot knows how to treat his ladies."

"I'm not your lady, Snotlout!" Astrid growled. "But if I have to take your gift, fine. I'll take one of your facedowns."

' _Perfect_.' Snotlout thought. ' _Everything is going according to the plan. Agnar was right, duel can be just like old-fashioned courting. After all, her accepting my facedown card is just like her accepting a Valentine from me._ '

His car then appeared on Astrid's field and he turned his focus back onto the duel. "But there's more, next I play the Spell Card Giant Trunade, what it does is brings all spells and traps back to our hands, so take that facedown card back now."

Snotlout then started daydreaming that Astrid was giving him a Valentine like he did to her.

Soon both of his cards were back into his hand and he grabbed one of them. "Ah, that's so sweet of you to give me back this so soon. And now I think I'll play it, Hidden Wish."

Agnar nodded as he played his ukulele.

"When Hidden Wish returns from my opponent's field back to me it deals 1000 points of damage to you."

"Oh no," said Astrid.

Astrid: 3000

Snotlout: 4000

"Then I regain 1000 life points."

Astrid: 3000

Snotlout: 5000

"So I guess I should say thanks darling, I just knew that us duelling would bring us closer. Are you feeling the sparks?"

Astrid's face was contorted and it was hard to tell whether she wanted the murder him wanted to be sick.

"I'm feeling nauseous," said Fishlegs.

"He will be lucky if she doesn't kill them," said Heather with a look of disgust on her face.

Snotlout then grabbed the other card that returned to his hand. "And now, I'll activate my other facedown card known as, Treasure Map," he said revealing his Trap Card and then placed it in his Graveyard. "Once I send it to the Graveyard, I get to draw two more cards. And I'll lay them facedown and end my turn."

Astrid just glared at him. "All right, Snotlout, let's go," she said as he drew. "I summon Valkyrie Swordswoman in attack mode!" Her female warrior soon appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1500) "Now take out that Ojama Yellow, Valkyrie Sword!"

Swordswoman charge straight at Ojama Yellow, who quivered with fear.

"Boss!" he squealed.

"Ah, don't worry," said Snotlout pressing a button on his duel disk. "Go, Ring of Destruction!"

Swordswoman stopped at the ring appeared around her chest. Next second exploded and shockwave both hit Astrid and Snotlout.

"Now we both get hit with your Valkyrie Swordswoman attack points like a couple," he said.

Astrid: 1400

Snotlout: 3400

"That's so romantic," said Agnar strumming his ukulele. "After all, what's left without pain?" He then gave Snotlout a thumbs up. "Nice worked don-one."

"You know it, Agnar," said Snotlout returning the thumbs up.

"Can you feel the love?" Agnar yelled.

"Please," said Astrid in disgust.

"Then maybe this will work," said Snotlout as he drew. "I play the Spell Card Graceful Charity, now I draw three new cards and discard two cards from my hand." He drew his three cards and discarded to from his hand and then lifted up the card he drew. "Oh, Pot of Greed, looks like I get two more."

Once he drew his two-car to press the button on his duel disk. "Now, go facedown!" he yelled his face and revealed itself. "Oh yeah, it's Ojama Trio." Astrid watched as three of the Ojama brothers appeared on her field. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 1000)x3. "Now three Ojama Tokens get across your field in defence mode and if one of them gets wiped out you lose 300 points. It's so great to share."

Astrid just gave him a murderous look.

"Next I cast my Spell Card Polymerization, let's go guys," said Snotlout as Ojama Green and Black appeared alongside Yellow. "Ojama Black, Ojama Green, and Ojama Yellow fuse and form Ojama King!"

The three Ojama's jumped into the vortex and seconds later they all saw the massive Ojama King appearing on Snotlout's field. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 3000)

"And thanks to Ojama King's special ability up to three of your monsters card zones are reclassified as occupied," Snotlout smirked.

She watched in horror as a miniature Ojama King appeared and stamped two of her monster card zones before disappearing.

' _No! Now I've got no room to play any new monsters_. _I'll be completely defenceless_.' she panicked to yourself.

"Next I'll throw a facedown and end my turn," said Snotlout as a facedown card appeared on his field. He then looked up at Astrid. "So, tell me are you feeling the fuzzies yet, after all I filled up your field to show you how much my heart is full of love, right."

"Oh boy," said Hiccup.

"I am starting to feel sick," said Ragnar.

"It is… sort of romantic," said Speedfist.

Everyone stared at him.

After was in a pinch, all the cards in a hand were completely useless. She looked at her Valkyrie Pegasus Rider.

' _If only I could get her onto the field, I might have a chance, but I can't even sacrifice those Ojama freaks to summon her_." she thought.

She then drew and looked at the card she draw in her eyes widened. "Wait, I think I've got it."

Everyone stared at her wondering what she was planning.

"Got what?" Agnar asked puzzled.

' _This little move should throw Snot-anova for loop_.' She then looked back at Snotlout. "I'm laying a facedown and that is it."

"Fine, my turn," said Snotlout as he drew. "I play, a little card I like to call Dress Up!" Suddenly Ojama King stood there in a finely pressed white suit. "The new duds give Ojama King and extra 300 attack points."

"Thanks for the threads," said Ojama King. (ATK: 0-300)

"And it's got another bonus," said Snotlout. "I get to switch one of your monsters to attack mode, another gift for you."

"But wait… all of her monsters have no attack points," Fishlegs pointed out.

"I'm afraid it gets worse," said Hiccup. "If Snotlout attacks and takes out an Ojama she lose 300 life points and what's even worse is that Snotlout can keep doing this dealing up to 1800 points of damage."

"Yeah, you got that right," Snotlout smirked. "Because then she will lose the match and I will win a girlfriend."

Astrid was disgusted by the thought. _'Eww me and Snotlout a couple. I better do something and I better do it fast._ '

"Let's see here," said Snotlout. "On one hand I could win this duel right now and when a girlfriend, but what would Snotlout having a girlfriend mean if she wasn't really madly in love with me."

"I agree," said Ojama King.

Hiccup looked at Snotlout in bewilderment. "Hang on, he's not going to force Ojama Black into attack mode? He keeps defending?"

Ojama King then charge straight towards Ojama Black.

"Look out below," he said as he performed a body slam. "Here I come!"

"Chowder head," Ojama Black murmured and head-butted Ojama King.

Astrid: 1400

Snotlout: 2700

"See, what a sweet guy I really am?" said Snotlout, but then he smirked as he pressed a button on his duel disk. "But wait there's more. Next I play Dramatic Crossroads," yelled at his trap card revealed itself. "It's decision time. Now pay attention, option number one: you discard one random card, option number two: you show your entire hand to me and then I allowed to take one of your cards for myself."

Everyone frowned.

"Why would she do that?" Fishlegs asked in puzzlement.

"Because if Astrid really loves me then she'll trust me she'll give me her very best card as proof of our love," said Snotlout blissfully. "Then she and I will live happily ever after!" Astrid's face was emotionless, there was no telling what she was thinking. Snotlout then extended his hand. "So now, make your choice."

Astrid placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Okay, Snotlout, listen up you're not ever going to see my hand, you got it?"

"I'm shot down!" he cried.

"I've already got a boyfriend and another reason why I love him?" Astrid asked as she looked at Hiccup. "It's because he chose the hard path to get to where he is now. With his father as the chancellor he could have been in Obelisk Blue light from the get go, but he didn't. He chose to make his own path out of hard work and skill."

Hiccup face turned pink and Ragnar elbowed him playfully.

Snotlout looked totally heartbroken.

"Crash and burn dude," said Agnar as he rushed over towards Snotlout.

"Yeah, so what?!" he yelled. He then looked straight towards Astrid. "Don't forget, if I win this you'll still be mine!"

"Dude, it's all over," said Agnar.

"I'll date ya boss," said Yellow. "We'd make a cute couple."

Snotlout ignored him and turned his attention on Astrid. "If you won't love me, then I'll defeat you and you'll have to go out with me."

Astrid looked at her hand and then shuffled it. ' _Well, I simply can't let him defeat me. I just hope I don't discard the one monster that can get me out of this mess_.'

She then grabbed one of the cards and looked at it. She sighed with relief and discarded Valkyrie Strategist.

"All right, Snotlout, it's my turn now," said Astrid as she drew her card. She then showed a spell card with the image of Valkyrie Battle Strategist blowing a horn. "I now activate the Spell Card, Valkyrie Horn! To activate this card I must sacrifice a Light attribute monster on my field and unfortunately for me your Ojama Tokens are Light attribute monsters."

"Have you forgotten that you can't sacrifice those tokens?" Snotlout reminded.

"That's where you're wrong," Astrid smirked. "I just can't sacrifice them for Tribute Summoning, but nothing ever said I can't sacrifice them to activate the Spell Card." Snotlout gasped in horror. "So, say goodbye to Ojama Yellow!" Ojama Yellow then vanished from the field. "Oh, since he wasn't destroyed I don't lose any points, but you sure are Snotlout, because the other effect of Valkyrie Horn allows me to special summon Valkyrie Queen to the field!"

Snotlout looked up as a great column of light emerged on the field and exiting from it was a beautiful blonde haired woman with a shield and sword in each hand. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2200)

"Now her special ability activates increasing her attack points by 100 for every monster in our Graveyards," said Astrid with a slight smile on her face. "And last I checked there were five is about 500 extra points."

Valkyrie Queen raised his sword and a bright glow covered her entire body. (ATK: 2800-3300)

"Oh no!" Snotlout cried in horror.

"Guess this means I win," said Astrid she then pointed at Ojama King. "Valkyrie Queen attack his King! Light of the Valkyrie!"

Valkyrie Queen raised her sword and it began to glow in a golden light. She then charge straight towards Ojama King and slammed her sword right down the middle destroying him instantly.

Astrid: 1400 (Winner!)

Snotlout: 0

"This can't be!" Snotlout cried as he fell to his knees. "She beat me, my darling beat me."

Astrid looked at Snotlout fuming. "I'm only gonna say this one last time, nothing you do will make me the slightest bit interested in you and stealing the Spirit Keys and forcing me into a duel like this is certainly no way to get yourself a girlfriend."

"Astrid, you could at least let him down gently," said Agnar nervously.

Then suddenly the entire ground shook and Hiccup do at once what was happening.

"The danger Banner warned us about," he said looking fearful. "It's here."

* * *

Valkyrie Queen

ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2200

8 Stars

LIGHT

Warrior/ Effect

This card gains 100 attack points for every monster in both players Graveyards. Once per turn you can special summon a monster with "Valkyrie" in its name with 1500 points or less to your side of the field.

Valkyrie Horn

Quick-Play Spell Card

Send one face-up Light attribute monster with 1000 attack points or less to the graveyard. Special Summon one "Valkyrie Queen" from your hand.

Card Image: Valkyrie Battle Strategist blowing a horn


	49. Rise of the Sacred Beasts Part 1

Deep underground, as the island shook violently, the Spirit Gates glowed a bright light, followed by a bright, green light bursting from the locks and up through the roof, shooting into the sky like some kind of light signal.

* * *

The light soon disappeared, but the vibrations that shook the island didn't. In the dense forest, many trees were uprooted as eleven smooth, long monument-like towers shot through the ground, sending trees and huge chunks of dirt falling to the ground as they jutted upwards at different angles.

On the beach something very strange was happening, the Spirit Keys glowing and vibrated furiously.

"The Spirit Keys," said Snotlout looking down at them, "something is happening to them!"

Then they started pulling him to his feet and seconds later they started pulling Snotlout towards the forest.

"The way you going, Snotlout?" Astrid asked.

"I don't know!" Snotlout cried as he ran past Hiccup, Ragnar and Fishlegs.

"Follow him!" Hiccup yelled.

They kept on following him through the dense jungle unsure where Snotlout was headed. Then suddenly the key started to float upwards and Snotlout, who was desperately trying to hold them back, found himself being lifted off his feet.

"Just hold on!" Hiccup yelled.

"What do you think I'm—!" Snotlout then slammed headfirst into a branch cutting the string that was around his neck.

They then stopped as they saw the Keys floated up to the jutting structures.

"What's going on?" Heather half-shouted, staring at the Keys as the gang entered a recently made, perfect circle of a clearing.

Woflegs grit his teeth and watched as the Key's disappeared into the structures. "The Keys are being absorbed by the pillars!"

"What did you do, Snotlout?" Astrid snapped, glaring at the exhausted Slifer.

Snotlout cringed. "It's not my fault!" he pleaded, eyes wide.

Unfortunately, no one looked convinced.

"Children!"

Everyone turned to see Stoick, Gobber and Spitelout, running up to them.

"What's happening?" Spitelout asked as they came to a stop, then glanced at Hiccup. "I suppose that all this is your fault Hiccup…"

Hiccup frowned. "Hey, I didn't steal the Keys…"

"It was Snotlout!" Everyone else said at once, pointing at the quiet Slifer.

Snotluot smiled nervously. "I was just—borrowing the Keys for Astrid."

"Don't you dare drag me into your big mess," she glared.

Before anyone else could ask or say anything about the situation, the ground began to shake again as a large, square object slowly rose from the ground. Everyone watched in curiosity as another, smaller object appeared on top, followed by a bright orb of light. Inside the orb, were three cards; one was blue, one was yellow, and one was red.

"It's the…" Hiccup began.

"Sacred Beasts cards," Snotlout finished.

"What're they doing?" Fishlegs asked, watching the Slifer and Obelisk walk towards the cards.

Hiccup and Snotlout jumped down into the clearing, but didn't get a few feet in until a deep voice echoed through the air.

"THOSE CARDS DO NOT BELONG TO ANY OF YOU!"

Fishlegs and Astrid looked up, followed by the others, and saw a large cargo-type helicopter approach the island. As it came closer, the rear of the copter opened up and someone jumped out of it.

"Who the heck is that thing?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Yeah, ask me, like I'm gonna know," he muttered sarcastically.

The man pulled his ripcord and parachuted down to the ground. He was tall and muscular with her thick ash-black long hair and beard. It looked like that he had never seen a comb in his life because their hairs were sticking out in all directions. His face was unrecognisable as it had some sort of helmet over it and on his finger he wore a ring with the millennium symbol on it.

"Those cards belong to me!" a loud, muffled voice came from behind the helmet.

"That voice… it's Alvin!"

Hiccup eyes widened. "Isn't that the guy will help you build the school?"

Everyone snapped their heads, staring at Stoick and Hiccup. "What?"

"Indeed I am, and it's been many years since I've seen you, Hiccup…" Alvin drawled from behind his helmet.

"This is in good," said Hiccup.

"I hope your parents build the school!" Alvin boomed, making Hiccup and some of the others to look at him. "Now, I've returned to claim my Sacred Beast cards!"

"No way!" Snotlout shouted.

"That's right!" Hiccup yelled, interrupting the two of them. "If you want those cards then you gotta go through all of us to get them!" Hiccup finished, glaring at the masked man.

"Fools! I am Alvin the Treacherous, the Master of the Shadow Games! I know it was your mother who sealed the cards here and created the Nine Spirit Keys… although, they are worthless…"

"My mum created the keys?" Hiccup blinked.

"Indeed, she was quite clever in making them to ensure that no one could get their hands on the Sacred Beasts. She designed them so that only the victor of a duel could unlock them," said Alvin as he slowly moved his machine towards the cards. "However, I discovered another way and all that was required was Duelling Energy. Energy that has been spent trying to protect those Keys."

Snotlout ' _hmphed_ ' and turned away. "See? This isn't The Snot's fault… like I've been trying to say," he muttered.

"That is why I tried so hard for the best duelists in the world to attend this school," Alvin continued. "I've hoped that year after year, class after class, that a student with enough duelling spirit energy would come and unlock the power of the cards. My Shadow Riders were sent to test you, and only two passed; two with the potential to unlock the Sacred Beasts and give me the strength to rule the world!"

Alvin scowled. "Cute story, Alvin," she spat at him. "What was with all the tricks?"

"Why make us work hard for no reason!" Heather added. "Too weak to get the cards yourself?"

"Astrid, Heather, don't make the scary man mad," Fishlegs whispered to them, eyes never leaving Alvin.

Ragnar shrugged. "He doesn't look so bad. More like a mad lunatic with delusions of grandeur," he commented.

"Listen up!" Wolflegs stepped forward. "There's no way you're getting those cards! Hear me, Alvin? As long as I'm here, you'll have to duel me to get them!"

"Hold up!" Snotlout snapped. "It's my duel, so let's go, Alvin!" He held up his duelling arm.

"No way! This one's mine. After all, he and I…" Agnar glared at the old man, strumming his ukulele. "Are old friends. He transformed me into one of his Shadow Riders!"

Speedfist stepped forward.

"NO!"

The Ra fell over.

Alvin let his eyes wander to a few students in particular. "My opponent will be Hiccup Haddock."

"Why me specifically?" Hiccup frowned.

"You have proven to be the only duellists with the power to unlock the Sacred Beasts," Alvin explained.

As if on cue to make a point, energy in the form of electrical sparks appeared and was soon coursing through each pillar, creating a circled perimeter around the students and teachers.

"And, if you refuse, I'll see to it that this island and everyone on it sinks to the bottom of the ocean deep!"

Hiccup's eyes widened. "You can't!"

"I can do anything… with these," said Alvin as he grabbed the Sacred Beasts from their protective holding.

"The Sacred Beasts cards!" Hiccup cried out.

"Good luck now," Snotlout muttered under his breath.

"No…" Astrid gasped as Alvin placed them inside his deck.

"Now, let this Shadow Game begin!"

"Listen, Hiccup…" Snotlout turned around and walked back. "If you need any advice… don't ask."

"Where are you going?" Hiccup asked.

"To find a boat," Snotlout shot back before getting hit in the face by a knapsack.

"Sorry, Snotlout," Alexis apologized as Hiccup grabbed the bag. "Thought Hiccup could use a duel disk…"

Snotlout glared at her, and then turned back to Hiccup. "Don't lose… I just got my room to look cool."

Hiccup nodded at him then turned around, digging around in the knapsack. "I hope you brought your A-game, Alvin! Because as of now, you're plan comes to an end!" he snapped as he pulled out his disk. As he pulled it out, he heard a loud thump and looked down.

It was the Tome that Banner had in their Shadow Game.

"Banner's magic tome," he bent down and was going to pick it up, but noticed something sticking out. It was a Duel Monsters card. Hiccup plucked it out and looked at it. The cards had an image of a bright blue ball with what looked like a swirling casing.

"Banner must've wanted me to have this," he thought aloud, smiling a little bit. "All right… I'll use it in my deck. What do I got to lose?" he shrugged, slipping the card in and shuffling his deck.

"You can do this, Hiccup!" Ragnar yelled from behind him.

"Take him down!" Heather added.

"And shut him up," Astrid said.

Hiccup nodded and tossed the knapsack back to them. "You got it!" he shot back right before the sacks hit Snotlout on the back of the head. "Oops… sorry, Snotlout!"

"That does it, I'm done!" Snotlout growled.

"But Snotlout, I need you!" Hiccup said.

"What you need is a swift kick in the—"

"SILENCE!" Alvin roared, as he slapped on his own duel disk. "This is why I hate teenagers…"

Hiccup stepped up as the platform that once held the Demons disappeared under the earth again, "All right, Alvin, bring it!" he challenged as his and Alvin's duel disks turned on.

"Hiccup you can't lose this!" Fishlegs yelled. "If you do, this guy's gonna take over the world, and that's not a good thing!"

"And I'm not losing my boyfriend to some psychopath either!" Astrid added.

"I know guys…" Hiccup waved at them, glaring at Alvin. "Time to duel!"

Hiccup: 4000

Alvin: 4000

"Make your move," said Alvin.

"All right, let's go," Hiccup picked up his card. "I'll summon Dragon Knight Fanghook in defence mode!" The young knight appeared on the field in a kneeling position. (ATK: 1400/DEF: 800) "And one card facedown. Now, let's see if those Beast cards live up to their name."

"Yes, let's," Alvin chuckled as he drew.

"I shall begin by place three Trap cards facedown…" he said, slipping three cards into his slots.

Snotlout raised an eyebrow. "Three Trap cards? I think this guy who lived in that helmet before too long…"

"What do you mean?" Fishlegs asked him.

Speedfist nodded in agreement. "Usually, when you place a card facedown, you don't say whether or not it's a Spell or a Trap card…"

"Unless, you happen to be summing a Sacred Beast," said Alvin smirking under his helmet.

The spectators gasped.

"Good! The sooner they're out, the sooner I can take them down!" Hiccup declared.

"You should be more careful of what you wish for!" Alvin snickered. "I sacrifice my three Trap cards in order to summon the first Sacred Beast! Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!"

Everyone watched as the three Trap cards shot up into the air and disappeared behind the tree line, in front of one of the pillars. As soon as they disappeared, a huge stream of fire erupted high into the air.

"Hey, what's happening?" Astrid cried, staring at the flames.

"Something bad, that's for sure!" Fishlegs' whimpered.

An almighty roar ripped through the air as the flaming stream disappeared and in its place, a gigantic, winged serpent-like creature hovered above the ground. It looked much like Slifer the Sky Dragon, only much darker. It had a huge wingspan, a large blue jewel in the centre of its forehead. (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)

Hiccup looked up at the great monster. "Okay, maybe it won't be easy…" he said as he stared up at the beast.

"Boss! Help me, Boss!"

Snotlout looked down at his cards to see Ojama Yellow in tears.

"Something's happening to us, Boss! That thing is doing something bad!"

"What do you mean?" Snotlout asked, looking back at the duel as a strong wind picked up. He shook his head. "Never mind, I'm sure you're fine…"

"Now, I activate his special ability. Trap Destruction!"

Uria opened his mouth and an ear-splitting roar ripped through the air again. Hiccup watched as the roar's shockwave destroyed his facedown card, which was Dragon Illusion.

"Whoa..." Hiccup breathed, looking back at the monster. "So that's Uria's power..." he whispered in awe.

"All Traps are useless against my Sacred Beasts, and they are all destroyed. Also, if any of you are curious as to Uria's attack and defence points, for each Continuous trap card in my Graveyard, Uria gains 1000 points!" Alvin explained, "At last count, there's three, so that gives him 3000 points!"

(ATK: 0-3000)

"Now, Uria, turn Fanghook to slag! Hyper Blaze!"

Uria opened his mouth again, but this time, a stream of extremely hot fire shot out from between his jaws and collided with Fanghook, burning him to a crisp.

"Your turn, Hiccup," Alvin chuckled.

"His turn to do what?" Wolflegs Zane scowled. "That monster's too powerful! What can Hiccup do?"

"Whatever he can…" Astrid glanced at her friends. "We just gotta have faith in him."

Hiccup grit his teeth and looked from Alvin, to straight up at Uria. ' _This is it… I've waited my whole life to duel the best. It why came here in the first place… and now I've got the best and am staring him down in a duel to take over the world. And I will succeed in stopping him at any cost_.'

"Let's do this!" Hiccup drew his card. "I activate pot of greed which allows me to draw two more cards."

Hiccup drew his cards.

Agnar shook his head. "Not like it's gonna make any difference, dude…"

"What's Hiccup thinking?" Snotlout scowled.

"I can't watch this," Spitelout whispered fearfully.

"Why not?" Wolflegs crossed his arms. "After all, this duel may be the last thing we all see…"

"C'mon, don't give up on him, yet, you guys!" Fishlegs pleaded.

"All right, next I'll play Polymerization and I'll fuse my Dragon Knights Meatlug, Hookfang and Windshear together to create the Dragon Knight Berserker!"

The crimson armoured Knight appeared by Hiccup. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600)

Alvin laughed. "He still doesn't have another attack points to destroy Uria."

"Actually, he does," said Hiccup. "You see when he battled against the monster he gained 500 additional attack points. I'll show you, because he's going to attack Uria!"

Berserker then flew straight towards Uria with a blazing aura around him. (ATK: 2800-3300). He then slammed his claws straight into Uria and he fell.

Hiccup: 4000

Alvin: 3700

"He did it!" Fishlegs whooped.

Ragnar grinned. "Yeah, one down to two go."

"Impressive. It seems I made the right choice as to make you one of my opponents, Hiccup. Your duelling spirit will serve me well as I rip it from your body and use it to call upon the power of the Sacred Beast cards."

"I kind of like my spirit where it is," said Hiccup as he placed a card facedown on the field.

"We'll see," said Alvin as he drew. "I activate Uria's special ability, by merely sending one Continuous Trap Card to the graveyard… and then…"

Alvin smirked discarded a card from his hand. Then suddenly they saw a giant column of fire erupting from the ground.

"Oh no!" Wolflegs stared at the pillar.

"Don't tell me," Snotlout gasped.

"It can't be!" Speedfist shook his head.

"We're in some deep trouble," Heather muttered.

Once again, Uria burst forth from the pillar of fire and roared, shaking the ground around him. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000)

"As Lord of Searing Flames, one of Uria's special ability is to be resurrected when I discard a Continuous Trap Card to the Graveyard," Alvin explained.

"What's worse…" Wolflegs grit his teeth. "With another Trap card in the Graveyard, Uria's power increase by another 1000 points!"

Astrid nodded. "If the Hiccup don't do something, he'll be the ones in the Graveyard!"

Uria howled with power. (ATK: 3000-4000)

"Now say goodbye to your Knight, Hiccup" said Alvin.

Uria then blasted Berserker with its flames.

"I activate Berserker's special ability, by sending a spell or trap card to the graveyard he can't be destroyed in battle," said Hiccup as he destroyed his trap card, which was Dive Bomb.

"But you still take damage," said Alvin.

The flames them slammed into Hiccup, who did everything he could hold his ground.

Hiccup: 2800

Alvin: 3700

"Now it's my turn," said Hiccup as he drew. He then opened the slot on his duel disk. "I now activate my Field Spell Dragon Knight Arena!" At once Hiccup and Alvin found themselves in an arena. "This gives my Knight a home-court advantage, you see when they do battle against a monster with higher attack points they gain 1000 additional attack points. And now he attacks Uria once again!"

Berserker charge straight towards Uria his power increasing thanks to his ability and to the field spell. (ATK: 2800-4300)

Once again he destroyed Uria by slamming his claws straight into it.

Hiccup: 2800

Alvin: 2900

"And then I'll summon Dragon Knight Bing to the field," said Hiccup.

The young knight appeared on the field in a defensive position. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 300)

Alvin drew. "Waste of a few turns, Hiccup," Alvin spat as he inserted a card in his Graveyard. "As long as I have Traps to dispose of, my Lord of Searing Flames can never truly be destroyed!"

For the second time, Uria climbed out of the pillar of fire, even stronger!

(ATK: 4000-5000)

"Now, I'll use my Pot of Greed and draw two more cards," he cackled, drawing his new cards, then putting one into his end tray. "Now, I'll use the Field Spell known as Fallen Paradise!"

Every watched as the Hiccup's arena was destroyed and was replaced with a barren, rocky wasteland, the sky very dark and cloudy as mist crept along the ground.

"Oh… not good," Hiccup muttered, looking around.

"Not only is your Arena been obliterated, but this new Field Spell card allows me to draw two additional cards every round!" Alvin laughed harshly as he drew two more cards and inserting a few into his disk. "Which is just enough to place three Spell cards on the field… the first, is Field Barrier, then Dimensional Fissure and second the Dark Door!"

"Huh? Three Spells?" Hiccup stared at the holo-cards laying in front of his opponent. He gasped. "Wait a second!"

"Clever boy," Alvin nodded. "I sacrifice my three Continuous Spell cards in order to summon the second Sacred Beast... Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!"

The three Spell cards turned into large ice shards and flew backward, creating three separate ice trails before coming together and creating a large ice block behind Kagemaru. With a devastating roar, a horrible new beast emerged from the ice, lighting crackling around its body. Like Uria, it had a great pair of wings. This new beasts had a golden body, lengthy limbs that ended up in slightly curved feet and hands, his huge claws glinting in the light as his bony tail swayed from side to side. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)

"Look!" Agnar pointed at the new creature.

Snotlout nodded slowly. "Yeah… we see it but…"

Speedfist cleared his throat loudly. "Uhm, about that boat?"

"Hamon attack!" Alvin ordered. "Let's show Berserker some real power!"

Hamon lifted his mighty head to the sky and from his mouth, a bolt of blue lightning poured out into the clouds above. Soon, the whole sky was coursing with his power before it rained down onto Berserker destroying him instantly.

"Berserker! No!" Hiccup cried.

Hiccup: 1600

Alvin: 2900

Alvin smirked under his helmet. "And with Hamon special ability should he destroy a monster you suffer an additional 1000 points of damage! But don't worry, Hiccup, it won't hurt… me!"

A lightning bolt rained down from the sky, hitting Hiccup dead on. Everyone could hear Hiccup's yells of electricity flowed through his body.

Hiccup: 600

Alvin: 2900

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs yelled.

"Is he okay?" Ragnar asked.

"And now Uria destroy his toy Knight," said Alvin.

Uria fired down upon Bing and soon he was destroyed by the flames.

"When Bing is destroyed I can summon Dragon Knight Bam to the field," said Hiccup weakly as he summoned his second knight to the field. (ATK: 200/ DEF: 200)

"He's still in the," said Astrid worriedly.

"But for how much longer?" Heather asked.

"Boss… Boss…"

Growling, Snotlout looked at his monsters, ready to snap at them, but stopped at what he saw. Ojama Yellow looked much thinner, as if he were very sick.

"Help us, Boss… all of us," Yellow whimpered with pleading eyes.

"What's… going on?" Snotlout puzzled.

Everyone quickly took out their decks and we're horrified to see that their monster cards didn't look so well either. All of them looked like they were in the same boat as Ojama Yellow.

"All my cards their fading!" Astrid gasped.

"Mine too," said Ragnar.

"What's going on?" said Heather.

"Our monsters," Speedfist gasped.

"They're all disappearing," said Fishlegs.

"Of course," said Alvin crossing his arms smugly.

Then everyone looked up and saw both Hamon and Uria with a golden aura around their bodies.

"The Sacred Beasts draw their strength from duelling spirits, but not nearly from the players they absorb energy from the very cards themselves."

Hiccup looked up and watched as dozens, if not hundreds of small, glowing orbs of light floated from everyone's decks and over to the two Beasts.

"That's why these cards were locked away!" Wolflegs realized. "They have the power to destroy every card on the planet!"

"That's… impossible," Spitelout shook his head in denial.

"Just look in the sky it's clear," said Gobber.

"Not good," said Ragnar.

"This can't be happening," Fishlegs whimpered.

"Hold on!" Speedfist nodded to the duel. "Hiccup's cards are the only ones not affected by it!"

"Hiccup's duelling spirits is beyond all of yours! Time and time again, he have proven that he have the heart and the courage to win, no matter what the odds! It is this force alone that can tame the Sacred Beasts and harness their awesome power!"

"So that's why you wanted me," said Hiccup, glaring daggers at him.

"Yes! When this Shadow Game is over, and you lay defeated, I will take your duelling spirit! Finally, I will have the power and become the new Master of the Sacred Beasts! They will absorb the strength of every card, deck, and duellist around the globe and allow me to become absolute ruler of the world! Allow me to demonstrate a mere fraction of their power…"

"Yes… I feel it… I feel the power!" Alvin yelled as he removed his helmet.

He revealed his face to be very grizzled and hard worn with a few scars here and there and jagged teeth. It was clear that he had worn that mass for quite some time, but that wasn't the pressing issue right now, because they saw him grow in size. His muscles were growing until they ripped his shirt and the legs of his jeans.

"This is not good," said Stoick grimly.

"And that's only a fraction of the power," Hiccup muttered, eyes never leaving his enemy. "That power is amazing, but also dangerous!"

'Which is why you can't let him win,' said Toothless as he appeared at his side. 'If he wins this duel there will be nothing stopping the Sacred Beasts and destroy the world. This is what your mother was trying to avoid when she created the Spirit Gates and now this fool has undone the seal."

Alvin looked at himself grinning slightly, "I like this new body… but something's still missing. Oh, that's right…" he snapped his head around and looked wickedly at his opponent. "It's your soul, Hiccup! Now, let's finish this duel!" He cried, holding up his duel disk.

Hiccup could only glare back while two of the three Sacred Beasts filled the sky above him. His friends watched on, helpless to do anything to help him out at all.


	50. Rise of the Sacred Beasts Part 2

Hiccup looked at the two Sacred Beasts that were on Alvin's field.

' _Maybe taking on two Sacred Beasts at the same time wasn't the best idea_ ," he thought.

"Daunting isn't it?" said Alvin as though he could read Hiccup's mind. "Fear not, my Sacred Beasts will end this for you soon."

"We'll see," said Hiccup as he drew. He looked at the card in his hand slightly annoyed and looked back at Alvin. "I pass."

Alvin laughed. "That was your big move? That's how you're going to stop my two Sacred Beasts? Please, don't insult them, after all it will be these monsters that will empower me to rule the world."

Hiccup just narrowed his eyes.

"Now then, where were we?" said Alvin as he drew. "Ah, yes. Due to the effect of my field spell, Fallen Paradise, once per turn I'm allowed to add two cards from my deck to my hand!" He picked up twice. "And next I'll going to wage an attack with Hamon Lord of Striking Thunder!"

Hamon launched a lightning strike that took apart Bam.

"When Bam's destroyed I can summon Dragon Knight Boom to the field," said Hiccup as he placed another young knight on the field. (ATK: 100/ DEF: 100)

"It won't do any good, because Hamon's ability takes another 1000 points from you and that means I win!"

"It's over," said Stoick.

"We're done for," said Speedfist.

"Hiccup, no!" Astrid yelled.

"Not yet," said Hiccup as he discarded the card from his hand. "By sending Dragon Knight Iggy regain 500 life points."

Iggy soon appeared above Hiccup and soon he put his life points increasing.

Hiccup: 1100

Alvin: 2900

"You might save yourself from losing, but you haven't stopped Hamon's ability," Alvin growled.

A bolt of lightning struck Hiccup and he yelled as electricity passed through his body. Then there was an explosion that sent him flying.

Hiccup: 100

Alvin: 2900

"He's still in there," said Astrid.

"Yeah, now is down to his last 100 points," said Ragnar grimly.

"Now Uria attack!" Alvin ordered.

Uria fired his attack once more and destroyed Boom instantly leaving Hiccup's field wide open.

"Looks like it's my turn again," said Hiccup as he drew. "Now since I have Dragon Knights Bing, Bam and Boom in my Graveyard I can summon their daddy! Dragon Knight Thornado!"

Suddenly a huge gush of water erupted from the ground and appearing in front of him was a powerful looking knight. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1800)

Alvin scoffed. "All that to summon one weakling."

"Oh yeah? Well, say that after this, because Thornado is going to attack Hamon with Sonic Blast!" Hiccup yelled.

The metal clamp on Thornado opened and he sent a sonic blast straight towards Hamon. Alvin just chuckled at the move.

"You think that puny blast makes a difference? Hamon, counterattack!" he ordered.

Hamon roared and launched a massive amount of yellow, flaming energy back. The energy wave, and the Sonic Blast met each other head on, but strangely enough, Hamon's energy blast was reflected by the Sonic Blast and seconds later, Hamon blew up in such a large explosion, a strong shockwave ripped through the area.

"What!?" Alvin stared in shock. "Hamon's been destroyed!"

"That's because of Thornado's special ability!" Hiccup explained. "When he fights a monster, it's automatically destroyed!"

"But he was stronger!" Alvin protested angrily. "So you should still take damage!"

Hiccup shook his head with a cruel smirk. "Sorry, but by removing from ply either Bing, Bam or Boom from my Graveyard, any and all damage you would've dealt to me becomes zero, plus Thornado get to stick around!" He explained as he took Bing from his Graveyard and hit the card behind his back.

"Nice move," Stoick said with a slow nod.

"Yeah, that's what I woulda done," Ragnar agreed.

"Way to play, Hiccup!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Keep it up!" Astrid said.

"I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," said Hiccup as a facedown appeared on his field.

"Your last turn," Alvin growled as he drew his card. "Remember, because of Fallen Paradise, I get to draw two extra cards!" he drew two more cards, having ten. "Now, Uria, finish him off with Hyper Blaze!"

Hiccup watched as Uria fired off another blast of fire, heading straight for his monster.

"Time to end this cycle!" He pressed a button on his duel disk and revealed to be a spell card with the image of dragon's flying out of the ground and into the sky. "Go Dragon Soul Release this card allows me to remove five cards from either my Graveyard or yours equal to the number of level of a Dragon on my side of field so since Thornado is a level fivw that means you lose five Trap Cards!"

"What?"

"You know what happens now," Hiccup smirked.

Speedfist nodded. "Of course! What a brilliant move! With those Trap cards gone, Uria's attack strength goes down dramatically!"

"A thousand per Trap card…" Snotlout grinned smugly. "Which means with those Traps gone, Uria's attack will be—"

"Zero, nothing, a big fat goose egg!" Spitelout finished, smacking an open palm with a fist.

(ATK: 5000-0)

"All right, now Thornado has the edge in this fight," said Hiccup. He then turned to Thornado. "Let him have it!"

Alvin watched in horror as, Uria was obliterated from the field, thanks to Thornado attack. The exploding Sacred Beast sent another shockwave through the area, making most of the people in the area cover their faces protectively.

Hiccup: 100

Alvin: 1400

"You're only postponing the inevitable!" Alvin growled, taking a card from his ten card hand. "You cannot stop the Beasts!"

"I just did…" Hiccup smirked

"But not for long, because now I activate the Spell Resurrection Tribute! Since my monster was destroyed, I get to destroy one of yours… meaning that Thornado will now be blown away!"

Hiccup watched as Thornado blew up in dozens of digitized pieces.

"But that's not all Hiccup I get to summon back a monster from my Graveyard to my field in defence mode! So, rise again, Hamon!" Alvin roared.

Lightning bolts crashed behind him, giving Hamon a chance to thrive once more. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)

"And next I activate Uria's special effect, by discarding a Continuous Trap from my hand," said Alvin as he discarded a card. "Well then, Uria resurrects!"

The Sacred Beast of flames returned in defence mode. (DEF: 0-1000)

"Aw great," Hiccup muttered, looking at the newly resurrected monsters. "I'm getting really tired of this!"

"This guy is overstaying his welcome," Astrid muttered.

"And now I activate the Spell Card Phantasmal Martyrs. When Uria and Hamon are both out I get to send two cards from my hand to the graveyard and then I can summon free of these! Phantasmal Martyr Tokens!"

He sent two cards from his hand to the Graveyard and then suddenly three demon like beasts appeared on his side of the field. (ATT: 0/ DEF: 0) x3

"And since he sent the Continuous Trap Card Imperial Order to the grave Uria's defence points increase to 2000," said Speedfist.

(DEF: 1000-2000)

"Just like that, my two Beasts are back," Alvin grinned wickedly. "It's like you're back where you started… but you're not, because now I'm sacrificing the three Phantasmal Tokens and summoning my last Sacred Beast! So you see," his grin widened as thick bolts of lightning boomed above them, "things are not the same, there much, much worse!"

Suddenly, the whole field was engulfed in a bright blue light. Everyone covered their eyes from the glaring light as a very strong wind picked up around them. Alvin laughed triumphantly as the ground behind him exploded, sending huge chunks into the air.

"Arise… Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"

Hiccup looked up as the light died down and stared at the final Sacred Beast. Raviel looked like a very dark and twisted version of Obelisk the Tormentor. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 4000)

"Not good, he's gathered all three out at once," said Wolflegs.

Suddenly the three Sacred Beasts began to glow and drawing in balls of light from all over the planet.

* * *

"Hey, the cards!"

Two small boys in a game shop stared through the display case and watched as the Duel Monsters cards slowly lost their images, golden orbs floating away unseen.

"They're gone!"

Both boys started to cry as an elderly, short man in overalls walked up behind them, gazing at the cards as well.

* * *

Slimelout and Spitlout watched, stunned as their prized, rare cards suffered the same fate as they sat in the large briefcase.

"Our cards!"

"They're vanishing!"

* * *

Snotlout whipped out his deck and looked down in horror. "Ojama Yellow!"

The small, annoying duel spirit's image on its card slowly decayed away, leaving only a bony skeleton on the card.

Alvin held out his arms as he began to glow a faint blue light. "Yes… come to me… come to me… come to me!"

Hiccup stared at his opponent's glowing body. "That's not right…"

"Oh no," Stoick soon realized what was going on. "It's as if Alvin's absorbing the Duel Monsters and using their energies!"

Spitelout scratched his head. "That's not in the rules…"

Alvin looked straight at Hiccup. "The Spirits sense your defeat… they're surrendering themselves to me, yielding to me their might so that I can unleash the three Sacred Beasts with a new life that shall be eternal!"

"So, if Hiccup loses this…" Snotlout started slowly.

"Then all of the Duel Spirits will be sucked up!" Wolflegs finished. "Not good."

"Sorry, Alvin, but there's no way I'll ever let you do that to my friends!" Hiccup swore.

"Spirit aren't to be friends with! They're for using to get what you want!" Alvin snapped at the Slifer. "And right now, I'm going to use them, Hiccup, to destroy you!"

"I don't know how Hiccup is going to pull out of," said Speedfist.

"Yeah, he's got no monsters, spells all traps, even his hand is empty," said Ruffnut.

"And is against three of the most powerful Duel Monster card ever created," said Tuffnut.

"We can't count him out just yet," said Ragnar, though he did sound concerned.

"Well it's my turn," Hiccup drew his card. "What'd ya know? It's my Dragon Knight charity, and since I have over five Dagon Knights in my graveyard I get to draw three cards."

He drew his three cards two of them were his Dragon Knights Toothless and Skull, but the third…

"Huh? What's this?" he said as one of the cards began to glow. "It's Banner's card! The one that was in that book of his!" He looked at the card for a little bit, then glared back up at Alvin. "I have the feeling that he wanted me to have it so that I could use it to beat you!"

"You give him too much credit! He was a dullard, a pawn that I used… just like you, Hiccup!"

"You wish," said Hiccup.

"But it's so true, Hiccup. Your soul… well, once I win it my reign is assured."

"And that's why you won't win it," said Hiccup. Then looked at his hand. ' _Unfortunately, none of these cards can actually help me._ '

"Hiccup… Hiccup…" a mysterious voice called out.

"Huh?" The Slifer turned around and scanned the area. "Who's there?"

Hiccup watched as a large yellow orb of light phased through some kind of veil, and hovered towards him, Pharaoh leaping and mewing at it, trying to hit it with his paw.

"Not now, Pharaoh!" the orb scolded.

"Professor Banner?" Hiccup asked slowly, staring at the terrorized orb. "Is that you?"

"Yes," Banner 'wandered' over to Hiccup. "My boy, you must use that card now!" he urged.

Hiccup looked at one of the cards in his three card hand. "But use it how?"

"That is up to you to decide. You see, it is only as good as its owner. It will grant you the card covet for each of you, meaning that it will turn into any card that you want it to be three times! Then, after the third covet, its true power will be revealed and if you've played your cards right, it will—"

Banner never finished because Pharaoh leapt up and swallowed the orb, and then dashed away, jumping through the veil again.

' _So think of any card I need?_ ' Hiccup shrugged. ' _Can't hurt to try…_ ' he closed his eyes in thought as the card in his hand morphed into what he was thinking.

Hiccup smiled. ' _It's just the card I needed. Thanks Banner…_ '

Hiccup: 50

Alvin: 1400

"I play the spell card Polymerization!"

"So what? That won't change a thing," said Snotlout.

"It could," said Astrid, "it all depends on how he plays it."

"I now fuse together my Dragon Knights Toothless and Skull in order to form Dragon Knight King!"

Toothless and Skull appeared on the field and they both ended into a vortex. Seconds later, one of Hiccup's most powerful monsters appeared. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2000)

"Very well, but now Raviel's special ability activates," said Alvin. "You see when you summon a monster I get to summon a Sacred Beast Token!"

Then appearing on Alvin's field was a miniature version of Raviel in a defence position. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)

"My monster has his own special ability," said Hiccup. "He gained 300 attack point for every dragon in the Graveyard and since my Dragon Knight treat themselves as dragons in the Graveyard that means he gains power from the eleven dragon in my Graveyard."

The spirits of all of Hiccup's Dragon Knights appeared behind Dragon Knight King giving him a massive boost in power. (ATK: 2500-5800)

"That can't be, 5800 points!" Alvin yelled.

"That's right and he's got a special ability whenever he destroys a monster," Hiccup smirked. "Basically you'll take damage equal to them destroyed monsters attack points."

"Wait, so—"

"So, go and get them Dragon Knight King!" Hiccup yelled pointing at Hamon. "Divine Dragon Sword!"

Dragon Knight King drew his sword and stuck Hamon creating a massive explosion destroying him.

"And now Dragon Knight King very similar with your special ability!" Hiccup cried.

Alvin looked up and saw Dragon Knight King reading a bright orb in his hand and tossed it straight out at him. However, the remains of Hamon sprung to life and surrender themselves around Alvin like some sort of shield in the light orb bounced off it.

"The good try," Alvin chuckled. "But if Hamon is destroyed while in defence mode all damage to may become zero."

Hiccup groaned, he was so close. ' _All right, here's my second card cover_.'

Hiccup: 25

Alvin: 1400

"I place a facedown to end my turn!" He concluded as a reversed card appeared.

"And I'll begin mine. First, thanks to the effect of Fallen Paradise, I add two extra cards from my deck to my hand," Alvin drew his extra cards. "Now I summon Giant Germ!"

Then appearing on his side of the field was a disgusting looking organism. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 100)

"Now I switch Uria from defence mode to attack mode!" Alvin roared as Uria stood up. "And then I'll play Raviel's effect. By sacrificing my Giant Germ and my token on my field for this turn only I can add those monsters attack points to Raviel's."

They watch as Alvin's germ and token both disappeared and stared as Raviel began to glow as power ended into him. (ATK: 4000-6000)

"So, that's why he summon that token and that monster to power up Raviel and power down Hiccup," said Speedfist.

"Go, Raviel! Claim your claws on the Dragon Knight King!" Alvin ordered.

Raviel went in for the kill.

"I play my facedown!" Hiccup announced. "The facedown of happens to be the second card I wished for: De-Fusion!"

Dragon Knight King split back up into Toothless and Skull, both kneeling down in defence. (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2200) (ATK: 0-2700/DEF: 0)

"Very well, but De-Fusion counters to summon's which means two tokens!" Two more tokens appeared and took up all his monster zones. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)×2 "Now Raviel, destroy Dragon Knight Toothless with Shimmering Scraper!" The fiendish beast took out the black knight. "And now Uria will finish off the other one Hyper Blaze!" Seconds later Skull soon joined Toothless.

Hiccup drew his card. ' _'Time for the final card covet…_ ' he thought as he thought of the final card he needed.

Hiccup: 12

Alvin: 1400

"I play Dragon Knight Fusion with this I can take monsters from my field and grave to combine them to create a fusion monster. So, Toothless and Skull will return to the deck in order to summon Dragon Knight Paladin!"

The two heroes appeared on the field as they formed into a vortex and seconds later standing there was a knight in bright golden armour. (ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000)

"Another beast token for me," said Alvin has a third token appeared on his field. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1000)

Hiccup then looked at Banner's card. ' _All right, the third card cover has been used time to see what this thing true powers and see if I play my cards right._ ' He then looked up straight at Alvin. "All right, next I play Sabatiel the Philosopher's Stone! And it says here, that if it's equipped onto Paladin, his attack points are multiplied by the number of monsters that you have on your field… and I count five!"

A bulky weapon appeared in Mamoru's hand, Jason's past incarnate smiling widely at the feel of the weapon. (ATK: 3000-15000)

"15000 ATK points!?" Alvin gasped.

"It's over…" Hiccup smirked. "Paladin! End this!"

Paladin leapt into the air, his new weapon spinning in his hands. As soon as he reached Raviel's height, he held up his sword and brought it down hard, slicing through Raviel's body like a hot knife through butter, creating a thick, glowing line in Raviel's body as he did so.

Alvin watched in stunned horror as Raviel was obliterated from the field, creating an explosion that rocked the island and sending a gigantic plume of smoke into the air.

Hiccup: 12 (Winner)

Alvin: 0

"I lost!?" Alvin gasped.

The sky returned to its normal blue colour and the spectators cheered at Hiccup's victory. However, Hiccup was the only one who wasn't celebrating fully yet. He was looking at Alvin, who was glowing a blue light as the hundreds of yellow orbs from before flew out of his body and back into the air.

* * *

Back in a certain card shop, the two boys who were devastated at the cards disappearing, were now watching them return to their normal selves.

"They're back!"

* * *

"Hey look, they've come back!"

Spitlout and Slimelout watched as their rare and powerful cards came back to normal as well.

"Too bad we can't dock them pay for time missed."

* * *

Snotlout watched as Ojama Yellow's skeleton was soon covered by its yellow flesh, followed by the normal, yet annoying soul of his Duel Spirit coming around.

"You're back!"

Ojama Yellow popped out of his card and hopped onto Snotlout's shoulder. "Aw, you'll never get rid of me, Boss!"

Hiccup looked down at his Sabatiel card, which was still glowing.

"Wow… what a card…" Hiccup breathed, watching the card disappear into a group of tiny lights, Banner's quiet laughter filling his ears. "'ll never forget you, Professor Banner," he whispered.

The Alvin screamed at the top of his lungs as a bright blue light forth from his body into the air, his muscles began to shrink and who was back to normal. The one thing that had changed more than anything else is looking his eyes as if he had woken up for the first time in many years.

"What happened?" he groaned.

Stoick marched over to Alvin. "What do you mean what happened? He tried to free the Sacred Beasts and try to rule the world."

Alvin stared at him. "I tried to do what?"

Toothless then appeared alongside Hiccup. "It was the influence of the Sacred Beasts that course and go mad," he said.

"I always feel sorry for them," said Hiccup.

He was soon tackled by Astrid who placed her arms around him. "You did it!" she yelled. Them before he could say anything, she punched him hard on the shoulder. "That's for scaring me!"

Hiccup grabbed his shoulder, which stung a bit, instead Astrid. "Listen if it's going to be always like this—"

She then pulled into a kiss any melted away. Once they broke up heart he just stared at her. "I think I can get used to it."

* * *

Moments later, Alvin was taken away by helicopter.

"Do you think you'll be all right?" Fishlegs asked.

"After what he's put us through, I don't really care," said Snotlout.

"It wasn't exactly his fault, it was the Sacred Beasts influence," Ragnar pointed out.

Stoick looked at the Sacred Beasts cards but Alvin gave back.

"It's all over," he sighed in relief, walking back to the spot where the Beasts' holding box appeared again, "And it's going to stay over! The Sacred Beasts will be under my guard and my guard alone!"

As soon as he placed the three cards in the container, the box closed up and disappeared under the earth. The giant stone pillars around them soon slid back into the earth as well, the island now back to normal.

"Sure is gonna calm here now," said Fishlegs.

Spitelout chuckled. "I wouldn't say that," he glanced at his students. "You see… next week is Duel Academy's final promotion exams!"

Hiccup groaned. "Damn, I forgot about that." The group chuckled at that.

"We can study later," said Ragnar placing a hand over Heather's waste. "Right now I just want to sit back and relax."

* * *

Dragon Soul Release

Quick-Play Spell Card

Select one Dragon-type monster on your side of the field then removed from play cards equal to that monsters level from either your or your opponents Graveyard.

Card image: image of dragon's flying out of the ground and into the sky


	51. The Graduation Match Part 1

On one evening at the Obelisk Boys Blue Dorm, Wolflegs was lying down on his bed going over the previous events…

* * *

All the third year students from every dorm, gathered at Spitelout's classroom and watched the top ten students overall year scores. But at the very top was a perfect score from Wolflegs Ingerman.

"Congrats Wolflegs, you've done it again!" Spitelout congratulated. "With the highest scores, you'll be able to headline this year's graduation match! All that's left is to choose your opponent! So, who will it be?"

* * *

After much thought, Wolflegs of Duel Academy sat up.

' _Who will I duel? The only one worthy…_ ' He thought. ' _It's time to give Hiccup his rematch…_ '

* * *

"AAAHHH!"

At the Slifer Dorm, Fishlegs was freaking out about his, Ragnar's and Hiccup's visitor: His older brother.

"Sorry about that…" He apologized to Wolflegs. "I never expected to see you, big brother."

"Wolf always freaks you out, Legs," Hiccup said staring as Wolflegs walked into the dorm, looking around.

"So, what brings you here?" Ragnar asked.

"You know in my entire three years at the Academy, I never had set foot in this dorm outside your cafeteria…" Wolflegs said amusedly. "It's nice to finally have a reason to now…"

"A reason?" Hiccup asked.

"A duel," said Wolflegs, making the Slifers face-fault.

"Are you serious?" Fishlegs asked.

"Very…" Wolflegs admitted. "I want to duel you in the Grad Match, Hiccup."

"Wow really!" Hiccup stared. "Well, you can count me in."

"The Grad Match!" said Fishlegs. "That's the biggest match of the year!"

"And you wanna duel, Hiccup!?" Hiccup asked.

"Right, til then…" said Wolflegs as he made his way to the door. "But you know, this dorm room, it suits you kids well…" And with that he left with a smile.

"You know, with him it's hard to know whether you giving a compliment or an insult," said Ragnar crossing his arms.

"To think, that last match of the year, and I'm in it!" Hiccup stared.

"Yeah, but think about it!" Fishlegs stated. "It's against the only student that you ever lost to and you're gonna be duelling him in front of the entire school!"

"Relax, Legs," Ragnar held his hands up. "It's not that big of a deal. It's just a duel…"

"No it's not!" Fishlegs continued. "If he loses, he'll be stuck in his Shadow forever!"

"Fishlegs, I just duelled against someone who wanted to rule the entire world I think a plain ordinary duel won't kill me," said Hiccup.

"You're good, Hiccup, but Wolflegs… he's undefeated. Sure there was that duel against Camula, but he lost on purpose to save me. Other than that he's undefeated, unbeaten."

Hiccup sighed. "Fine, if it makes you feel better… I'll prepare…" he went to sit at the desk and pulled out his deck, along with some extra cards.

Ragnar turned to smile at Fishlegs. "He'll be fine…" he assured.

"I hope so."

* * *

Elsewhere, Astrid, Heather, Snotlout, Speedfist and the twins were talking amongst each other.

"Did you guys hear the news?" Astrid asked them. "Hiccup's gonna be facing Wolflegs in the graduation match!"

"My, that has the makings of a great match!" Speedfist stated. "An Obelisk versus a Slifer; a third year student versus a first year; should be good!"

"And it's also the rematch that we've been wanting to see most…" Heather said.

"This will be so awesome," Ruffnut said excitedly.

"I know, I wonder there is going to be any explosions?" Tuffnut pondered.

The only one not excited by this news was Snotlout, who was stamping his feet furiously. "It should be me! Now that would be an awesome match!"

Suddenly, Agnar popped out of the trees spooking the six of them.

"Not sure about that Snotty!" he said as he landed on his feet. "You see with Wolf and Hiccup it'll be cool calm and collective versus fast and furious!"

"Well, I'm not sure about the furious part," Astrid mused. "But Hiccup definitely duels with more passion than Wolflegs…"

"That might be the main reason why Wolflegs chose him as his opponent," said Heather.

"He duels with more passion than anyone," Asami said. "Even Jason."

"Indeed…" Speedfist muttered. "But sometimes that could hurt your game…"

"Should be my game," Snotlout muttered loudly.

Everyone just stared at him.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup was sitting behind the Slifer Red dorm, pondering over his next match.

' _What a way to end the year!_ ' He thought. ' _I get a final match against the best duellist at the Academy… the only student who's defeated me…_ ' He then growled at the remembrance of the loss. ' _The one student who stands at me being the best!_ '

"No two ways about it, I gotta win!"

Toothless appeared behind him. "Don't get too worked up about it or you'll lose your cool." He then turned his head "And by the way… You have a visitor…" he alerted him to a new presence. And when Hiccup looked behind him, he saw his opponent for tomorrow… Wolflegs.

"Hey, Wolf what's up?" He greeted.

"What's up, is that our duel's tomorrow, you ready?" He stated.

"Yeah…" The Slifer nodded.

"Then, I'll see you at the duel arena…"

* * *

The next day, everyone was at the main arena with every student from every dorm in a seat, clamouring about what a great match this would be.

"It's about to start," said Fishlegs.

"Yeah," said Astrid.

"Wolf and Hiccup duelling it out on the last throwdown of the year," said Agnar crossing his arms. "Man, who could ask for a better match."

"A mismatch," said Speedfist pulling out his PDA. "According to my figures, Wolflegs is quite the favourite."

"Some things you can't figure," Astrid glared.

"She's right, Hiccup's beaten the odds before," said Heather.

"And I doubt he's gonna stop now," said Ragnar.

Snotlout just sat there in silence, he was still annoyed that Hiccup was chosen over him.

Down below, the two duellists stepped onto the platform and walked towards the middle of it, where the two of them stared each other down.

"All right Wolflegs may the best duellist win," Hiccup said quietly, holding out his hand.

Wolflegs nodded and took his hand, shaking it.

After exchanging pleasant formalities, the two duellists walked back to their ends and faced each other once again, their duel disks now activating. Hiccup took his five cards for his hand and looked up at Wolflegs, who was doing the same thing. The air in the arena was thick with tension.

Chancellor Stoick looked at Spitelout, who held a microphone and nodded.

Spitelout returned the nod and stood up, "Now, the Graduation Match between Wolflegs Ingerman and Hiccup Haddock!"

"Enough small talk!" Wolflegs snapped.

"You got that right," Hiccup shot back at him.

The two of them now had a look of fierce determination on their faces.

"LET'S DUEL!" the two of them shouted as their Life Point meters flared to life and the crowd cheered wildly.

Hiccup: 4000

Wolflegs: 4000

Hiccup's hand hovered over his deck. "So, who goes first?"

"You choose," Wolflegs offered.

Hiccup smirked. "Well, in that case, I'll go second."

Wolflegs blinked, surprised at the choice. "Really? Second?"

' _Interesting choice_ ,' he thought, staring at Hiccup.

' _By going second Wolflegs won't be able to summon that powerful Cyber Dragon during the first round, because there won't be a monster out on the field let him do it_ ,' Hiccup thought, glancing at his hand.

Wolflegs bit his tongue in thought. _'Looks like someone's studied up on._ '

"All right, Wolflegs, that's do this!"

"Very well then, here goes!" Wolflegs drew his sixth card. "I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! Now, by sending some select monsters from my hand to the Graveyard, I can summon a Fusion Monster!"

"Right now?"

"That's right, Hiccup! There's more than one way to skin a cat… or in this case, summon a dragon!" Wolflegs held up three cards. "I'll send the three Cyber Dragons in my hand to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Everyone in the arena watched as Wolflegs' most powerful Dragon appeared on the field, its three heads roaring fiercely. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Dear me!" Speedfist gasped.

"And me," Fishlegs moaned.

"He's good," Astrid murmured.

"That was quick," Heather said.

"Very…" Ragnar agreed.

Hiccup was a bit shocked to see the Dragon, ' _I was wondering why he didn't care who went first, but now I know. He's prepared for any situation… the question is, am I? Especially with that Cyber End Dragon out! When that thing destroys a monster in defence mode, it deals piercing damage! Man, not the best way to start a duel!_ '

Growling, Hiccup shook his head. "Well, are you done, or is there anything else you wanna throw at me?"

"As a matter of fact, there is…" Wolflegs placed a card into a slot. "Different Dimension Capsule! Now Hiccup, I select one card in my deck and remove it from play," he took a card out of his deck, "but two turns from now, it comes to my hand!"

"Hey, I remember this…" Hiccup watched as the strange coffin sank beneath the floor. ' _In our first match, Wolflegs used the Capsule to add Power Bond to his hand… wonder if he's doing the same thing now?_ '

"Finally, I'll place one card facedown, and end my turn," Wolflegs finished as he slipped a card into his disk and emptying his hand.

' _A facedown card too? I can't tell what those cards are, but I have a hunch. Yeah, that Capsule card must be Power Bond, and the facedown card must be De-Fusion! He must be planning to De-Fuse Cyber End Dragon, then use Power Bond to finish me off the rest of the way!_ '

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. ' _I'm not gonna lose again!_ '

"Hiccup, go on, it's your turn now," said Wolflegs loudly, staring coolly at him.

Off to the sides, his friends saw how Hiccup was acting in this duel, worrying them.

"What's wrong with him?" Astrid asked in concern for her boyfriend. "It's like he's frozen up…"

"Aw man," Fishlegs whimpered.

"I'm sure he's fine…" said Ragnar, although concern could be heard in his voice. "He's probably just thinking…"

' _Heh, Wolflegs thinks he's gonna outsmart me again, but this_ time…' Hiccup smirked a little. _'I'll outsmart him, and I'll do that right now!_ '

"Here goes!" Hiccup drew his card. "I summon Dragon Knight Hookfang in attack mode!"

Hiccup's musclebound knight appeared on the field, staring fiercely at the multi-headed dragon. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000)

"Now, I'm gonna activate the Spell Card Dragon Half!" Hiccup held up another card with the image of a dragon split in half. "It's got quite the effect, the first thing it does is cut the attack points of your monster in half!"

The three headed machine groaned in weakness. (ATK: 4000-2000)

"Now, a Half Token with the same number of attack points of your weakened dragon is summoned!"

An identical Cyber End Dragon appeared on the field. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 2800)

"I'm not done yet next I quit the Spell Card Inferno the Dragon Blade!"

A sword appeared in the air and Hookfang grabbed it.

"Hookfang, attack Cyber End Dragon with Inferno Dragon Sword!" Hiccup ordered, pointing to the real version of the three headed dragon. "Oh, and Hookfang gains 400 extra attack points when he battles against the monster."

A flaming aura surrounded Hookfang as a charge against the three-headed dragon. (ATK: 1600-2000)

Wolflegs kept a calm face as the hero came at his monster, and pressed a button on his duel disk, "I don't think so! I play De-Fusion"

Everyone watched as the Dragon split into the three separate ones. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1000)x3

Hookfang backed up at the sight of the dragons.

Hiccup growled. "Against any of those three Cyber Dragons, I can still win, but against that one Cyber End Dragon, Hookfang still has a chance. A really small one, but I've got no other choice but to go for it and just hope for the very best…"

Once again, the muscular knight flew through the air and made contact with the Cyber End Dragon token, blowing it up completely, but the explosion took him with him.

"He did it…" Astrid murmured. "Hiccup destroyed Wolflegs' Cyber End Dragon!"

Speedfist nodded. "Indeed he did, Hiccup must've calculated that Wolflegs' facedown was De-Fusion. Impressive."

"Yeah, but that's not really Hiccup's style," Fishlegs piped.

"Really," Ragnar agreed. "He doesn't usually think two steps ahead, he much rather things on his feet… or foot as the case maybe."

"What's he thinking?" Heather asked.

"Hookfang may be gone, but says he was equipped with Inferno all of your spell and trap cards are now destroyed," said Hiccup.

Everyone watched as Wolflegs' capsule appeared on the field, but moments later was destroyed.

Spitelout gawked. "So, he was able to destroy the Cyber End Dragon on his first turn?" He shrieked in disbelief.

Stoick nodded. "Yes, it seems that way. Hiccup has really done his homework here…" he mused.

"The boys work is impressive, but it doesn't exactly fit with his style," said Gobber looking concerned.

Hiccup nodded his head. "In this duel, I'm playing with my head right from the get go!" He inserted a card into his disk. "Next, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn!"

"Oh, is that it? Very well," Wolflegs drew his next card. "First of all, the card removed from play using Capsule, returns to me."

"Hey!" Hiccup interjected. "Wait a sec! So… the card that was in there wasn't Power-Bond?"

"No, it wasn't. Seems like you've over-thought this one, Hiccup," Wolflegs turned over the mentioned card. "It was Card from the Different Dimension!"

Hiccup's eyes widened a bit. "Okay, didn't see that coming…"

"Due to this," Wolflegs went on, "We both get to draw two cards from our decks and add them to our hands…" they did, giving Hiccup four and Wolflegs three.

Ragnar nodded. "I get it. To summon his Cyber End Dragon, Wolflegs had to use four of his cards. If he had used De-Fusion, then Power-Bond right after, there wouldn't be any cards left in his hand to use!"

"And that would be Wolflegs in a tough spot," Speedfist agreed.

"No kidding," Snotlout added. "That's what I would've done."

"I knew Wolf was too smart and clever to mess up in the first turn," Heather stated.

"Yeah, you're right," Astrid murmured.

"That was smart," said Agnar. He then looked at Astrid mischievously. "Maybe you should root for him instead of your boyfriend."

"Shut up," Astrid growled.

"C'mon, Jay…" Fishlegs stared hard at the due. "Hang in there!"

"All right…" Wolflegs looked up at Hiccup. "Cyber Dragon wage a direct attack with Strident Blast!"

"Don't think so! I play a Trap called Draining Shield!" Hiccup cried out as his facedown was revealed. Moments later, a yellow dome appeared around him and absorbed the oncoming blast of energy.

"Sorry Wolflegs, but your Dragon's attack is cancelled!" Hiccup grunted as the dome disappeared. "And I get more Life Points, equal to the attack points!"

Hiccup: 6100

Wolflegs: 4000

"That's fine, Hiccup, you'll need them, because my remaining two Cyber Dragons are going to attack you, Hiccup!" Wolflegs pointed at Hiccup as his monsters reared upward. "STRIDENT BLAST!"

Both his dragons struck Hiccup with their double attack.

Hiccup: 1900

Wolflegs: 4000

"Next, I'll play one card facedown and end my turn," Wolflegs finished, slipping a card into his disk.

"Wow, Hiccup just barely survived that turn," Astrid breathed. "Too close."

"It'll be even closer next time," Speedfist thought aloud. "Those Dragons are still out, meaning that Hiccup's in a constant state of peril. He must neutralize them!"

"Yeah, no joke, Speedfist, but the question of the day is how…" Agnar scratched his head. "And more importantly, when?"

"You know…" Fishlegs sat back. "Normally, I would say not to worry but with the way that Hiccup's over-thinking things here, I'm really not so sure…"

"Me neither," Heather stared ahead.

Astrid frowned a little, knowing that he was right. "I know…"

"Stop over-thinking," Ragnar murmured from his seat.

Snotlout glanced at them both for a few seconds before looking ahead.

' _Okay, maybe things didn't go exactly to plan!_ ' said Hiccup mentally, glaring at the three beasts ahead of him. ' _I just need to think of a way to get rid of those Cyber Dragons, and I've got to do it right now!_ '

"My turn!" He drew, having five. "I play the Spell Card Costs Down. So by sending one card for my hand to the Graveyard I can lower the level of the monsters in my hand by two." He then discarded his Dragon Emblem Trap Card. "Oh, and since I sent dragon emblem to the Graveyard I can look through my deck and grab an Dragon Knight and place in my hand," Hiccup began looking through his deck, "and I'm choosing Dragon Knight Stormfly and since she is now a level four I can summon her."

Suddenly appearing on the field was his favourite female warrior. (ATK: 2000/ DEF: 1900)

"And next I'll equip her with her trusty Dragon Knight Axe which will give an 800 attack point boost," said Hiccup as he inserted another card.

Stormfly outstretched her hand and a battle-axe appeared in it. (ATK: 2000-2800)

"Oh, and Stormfly is able to attack all your monsters at once," said Hiccup. He then turned his gaze on Stormfly. "Do your thing Stormfly and take out those Cyber Dragons!"

Stormfly raised her act and charged that the Cyber Dragons destroying them all with free swipes with her axe.

Hiccup: 1900

Wolflegs: 1900

"My goodness!" Spitelout shot up from his seat, horror-struck. "All three Cyber Dragons destroyed in one turn!"

Stoick stared in amazement. "Remarkable… this duel certainly is living up to its hype!"

Gobber just sat there looking concerned.

Hiccup smiled proudly. "Now look who's thinking two steps ahead."

Wolflegs scoffed and smiled a little at Hiccup. "You're a fool!"

"What?"

"I'm activate Return Soul! Since all three of my Cyber Dragons were destroyed, I can put them right back into my deck!"

Hiccup grit his teeth. ' _Great, just perfect. Just when I thought I was rid of them, they're back and rarin' to get rid of me!_ '

Wolflegs slowly shuffled his deck, eyes, closed. "What a shame… I thought I picked Hiccup Haddock to be my opponent… wonder where he is?"

"Say what?" Hiccup looked at him, confused.

"You're not being yourself, you're not playing with your heart!"

"That's right!" Hiccup shot back. "Because to beat you, I gotta play with my head! Like I'm doing now!"

"What you're doing, Hiccup, is wasting my time."

"Sure I am…" said Hiccup. "You can quit the mind games, okay? They're not gonna work! I'm not gonna lose to you again!"

"Mind games?" Fishlegs looked at his best friend. "I don't think that's what Wolflegs' doing, but he does have a point. Hiccup's been duelling differently this whole game!"

Wolflegs drew his card. "It's my turn now, and I play the Spell Future Fusion! But, this is no ordinary Fusion… you see, I can fuse cards not in my hand!"

"I know how it works," Hiccup interrupted.

Wolflegs ignored him. "Therefore, I send three Cyber Dragons from my deck to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Hiccup gasped as he heard Wolflegs' comment of the return of Wolflegs' signature monster. Moments later, Cyber End Dragon soon return to the field once more. (ATK: 4000/ DEF: 2800)

"Of course, monsters created by Future Fusion aren't allowed to attack on the turn their summoned, but I can wait."

' _Hey, but I can't_ ,' Hiccup thought as he stared up at the Cyber End Dragon. _'I need to think of a way to get rid of that thing, fast._ '

"All right then, my turn!" Hiccup drew his card, having three and place the three of them on the field. "I'll place three cards facedown and that will do."

Wolflegs scoffed. "Still with your head. You can't win this way!"

"Don't think so?" said Hiccup. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see about that. Go ahead then, Wolflegs, make your move!"

Wolflegs frown deepened. "What a disappointment you've become…"

"Enough with the mind games!"

Wolflegs closed his eyes. "All right, Hiccup, fine. If you won't listen to my words, perhaps…" he paused and drew his next card. "Perhaps you'll listen to my cards! First, I'll play the Spell card, De-Fusion! Now, one Fusion monster on the field returns to my Fusion deck, and my three normal Cyber Dragons come back!"

The fusion monster split back into the three originals. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1000)x3

"Now, my next card is…"

A blinding light ripped through the arena, causing Hiccup to yelp and cover his eyes as the light became brighter and brighter.

"Recognize it, Hiccup?" Wolflegs asked as a thick cloud formation appeared overhead. "It's Power-Bond, and I'm going to use it to bring back an old friend… the Cyber End Dragon!"

With an almighty roar and a flash of lightning, Wolflegs' best monster appeared on the field once more, taking its place behind its master. Everyone in the arena gasped and looked hard at the duel while Hiccup stared at his opponent, scared. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Wait, again?" Ruffnut blinked.

"But why?" Tuffnut asked puzzled.

"Because he's ready to finish this duel," said Ragnar.

"Why again, you may be asking?" Wolflegs said coolly. "Quite simple really, if a monster is summoned by the effects of Power-Bond, it's attack points are doubled!"

Cyber End Dragon roared at its major power boost. (ATK: 4000-8000)

' _Just great! Looks like things then go exactly according to plan and ride into a giant loss_.' Hiccup looked up at the mechanical hydra. ' _And maybe a giant loss One that I may never live down!_ '

"And to think, I admired you Hiccup…" Wolflegs slowly shook his head, his eyes staring into Hiccup's. "I won't make that mistake again… nor will anyone else!"

"Oh no!"

"You're through!"

* * *

Dragon Half

Spell Card

Activate this card only if you have a face-up Dragon-type monster with 2000 attack points or less. Select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls and halve its original ATK and DEF. Then, Special Summon 1 "Half Token" to your opponent's side of the field. The Token has the same Level, Type, Attribute, ATK, DEF and effect(s) as the selected monster.

Card Image: dragon split in half.


	52. The Graduation Match Part 2

"So, what now Hiccup?" Wolflegs asked. "You think you can beat my dragon? You've got one monster and she is about to be blasted into oblivion, it's over for you."

' _No, it can't be_ ,' Hiccup thought looking at the field. ' _I know I can think my way out of this and I better start or else…_ '

"Come on, what's wrong?" Wolflegs asked and closed his eyes. "Unless, you're afraid. Is that your problem?" Hiccup didn't answer and Wolflegs looked at him with a firm expression. "Well then, I'll put you out of your misery! Cyber End Dragon, attack!"

"Not so fast," said Hiccup as he pressed a button on his duel disk. His face down card revealed itself to be a trap card with an image of a dragon growing twice its size. "Dragon Force! This card allows me to double the attack point of a Dragon-type on my side of the field until the end of the turn meaning Stormfly is going to get a power boost."

Stormfly stood firm as aura covered her body. (ATK: 2800-5600)

"That's pointless," said Wolflegs looking unimpressed. "You see, Hiccup, with my Power Bond I still have enough points to take out your Stormfly."

Hiccup just closed his eyes.

"Farewell, Hiccup. Cyber End Dragon, attack and end this duel!"

Everyone watched as the three dragon heads fired off a separate burst of energy that converged into one powerful stream headed straight for Stormfly.

The blast covered Hiccup side of the field as everyone wondered has Wolflegs won.

Their answer came up with Hiccup appearing out of the smoke, minus one Stormfly and two facedowns.

"Sorry, Wolflegs… but we're not done," he grinned slyly, crossing his arms. "Yet!"

Hiccup: 500

Wolflegs: 1900

Wolflegs' eyes widened in shock. "I don't understand, that hit you dead on. This match should be done!" He exclaimed as murmurs of surprise rippled through the audience.

Hiccup stood there, breathing heavily after the devastating attack. "Talk about activating a Spell in the nick of time," he muttered. "Thank you Emergency Provisions…"

Hiccup had used the effect of Emergency Provisions to gain 1000 more Life Points at the cost of his Dragon Force Trap card when you activated it, increasing his life points to 2900 before the 2400 points of damage went through.

Stoick chuckled and nodded in approval from his place in the stands.

Astrid held her hand over her heart. "That was too close!"

"Any closer and Hiccup would be defeated," Ragnar added.

"Now," Hiccup pressed a button on his disk. His last face down card revealed itself to be a trap card with the image of Dragon Knight Skullcrusher blowing a horn with the Dragon Knight emblem on it. "I'll play Dragon Knight Horn! With this, I can summon any monster with Dragon Knight in its name as it has four stars or less! And I choose Dragon Knight Scaldy!"

Then suddenly Scaldy jumping onto the field. (ATK: 800/DEF: 1000)

"Also, when Sclady is the only card on my field I get to draw two extra cards," said Hiccup he drew two cards from his deck.

' _I may have survived this round, but just barely! So much for using my head over my heart_ …'

Wolflegs looked at the two cards in his hands and held one up. "Now, I'll summon Cyber Kirin!"

The machine that appeared was like a small metal giraffe. (ATK: 300/DEF: 800)

"And if I should sacrifice him, all card damage this turn, goes to zero! That means that my Power Bond damage is negated!"

Kirin vanished.

Speedfist whistled at the move. "Flawless!"

"Totally," Agnar said with a nod.

"Now he has a monster with 8000 ATK points on the field!" Heather gasped.

"Now that's card playing," Ragnar admitted.

"C'mon, where's the Hiccup that almost beat me before?" Wolflegs demanded.

Hiccup closed his eyes. "You're right Wolflegs," Hiccup admitted. "I wasn't duelling like myself and that was my biggest mistake."

Wolflegs raised an eyebrow. ' _So he finally sees it…_ ' he nodded.

"Okay, I should have played like myself from the get go and I was stupid enough to think that I could outthink you, but I won't make that mistake again," said Hiccup firmly. "You better watch out Wolflegs, because I'm back."

"I think we're in for a match now," said Stoick with a warm smile.

"Indeed, things are starting to get interesting," said Spitelout

Spitelout frowned at them, "Just what do you mean?"

"I mean that Hiccup learned a valuable lesson," Stoick turned and met his colleague's stare. "You see, Hiccup's a great duellist, but not because of his booksmarts, but because he plays with his heart, his soul! And also for the fun of it! Wolflegs helped him find the duellist that he left behind."

"Left behind?"

"All right, let's go, Wolflegs!" said Hiccup as he held up his disk. "Now then…"

Wolflegs chuckled. "Bring it!"

"My draw!" Hiccup drew, having three. "First Pot of Greed will let me draw twice!" He picked up two cards.

"Now I'll play one I summon Dragon Knight Windshear in defence mode!" The black haired female warrior appeared on the field in a defence position. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1200)

"Then I play discard Dragon Knight Sneaky! This little guy allows me to snatch one spell card for my opponent's Graveyard."

Wolflegs smiled "Seems like the old Hiccup's back."

A blur of movement made Wolflegs look down saw as a child in dragon-like armour similar to Sharpshot, only it was aqua blue, began to rummage through the Graveyard.

"Thanks Wolflegs! Future Fusion! Now, all I gotta do is to sacrifice a couple of monsters that can be used for a Fusion and bam! I get what they woulda made," he tossed a couple of cards into his Graveyard.

"So say goodbye to Fanghook and Meatlug and say hello to Dragon Knight Guardian."

Then appearing on the field was a large female warrior with purple and brown Dragon-like armour holding a large shield. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 2600)

"He's special ability forces you to attack him and he deals to you is doubled," said Hiccup. He then inserted two cards in his duel disk. "I'll set to cards facedown and end my turn."

"Impressive, but too little too late!" Wolflegs drew his card.

"I summon forth Cyber Phoenix in attack mode!" Wolflegs cried. A mechanical bird appeared on his side of the field. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1600). "With Phoenix on the field any Spells or Traps targeting a certain monster are destroyed. Which means their effect gets cancelled out…" He then looked at Hiccup, "see where I'm going with this, Hiccup?"

"I got it, the Cyber End Dragon can't be targeted by Spell or Trap cards," Hiccup said grimly. ' _That means it's practically invincible_.'

"Will Hiccup finish up and lose already," Snotlout grumbled.

"This is a tough spot," Speedfist admitted.

Agnar looked at Astrid. "Your boyfriend not doing so well."

"Hiccup is no quitter, he'll find a way," Astrid glared.

"I'm not sure how he's going to accomplish that," said Ragnar grimly.

"He is in a bit of a mess," Heather admitted.

"I'm glad you finally figured out what was wrong, Hiccup, but right now, it doesn't matter! Cyber End Dragon, attack Guardian!" Wolflegs roared.

Hiccup watched as the familiar beams of energy went flying at his fusion monster.

"I activate my Spell, De-Fusion!" Hiccup announced pressing a button on his duel disk. "It lets me take one of the fusion monsters on the field and spread them back apart."

"Sorry, Hiccup, Cyber End Dragon can't be split, Cyber Phoenix is protecting him, remember?" said Wolflegs gesturing to his Phoenix.

"Who said I was going to split Cyber End Dragon?" Hiccup smirked and Wolflegs looked up. "I'm going to de-fuse Guardian!"

Wolflegs watched in puzzlement as guardians split into the two monsters that formed her. Both Fanghook and Meatlug soon reappeared on the field in attack mode. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 900), (ATK: 1300/ DEF: 2000)

Cyber End Dragon's shot right between them.

"Why did he do that?" Ragnar frowned.

"I know, Cyber End Dragon will just attack one of them now," said Heather in puzzlement.

"Hiccup must have a plan," said Astrid.

Wolflegs was equally as puzzled. ' _Even if you combine those Knights attack points they don't come close to my Dragons 8000. He's making a grave error._ ' His eyes and widen as he realised what Hiccup's plan was. "Unless…"

Hiccup smirked. "Unless, I'm not attacking I'm sacrificing. I now activate my facedown card!" He pressed a button on his disk and his facedown was revealed. "Here comes Elemental Burst!"

"Oh no!" Wolflegs stepped back a bit.

"Oh yeah! By sacrificing a Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire attribute monster, each and every card on your field gets totally destroyed!"

Soon his four monsters became pillars of elements. The four streams of power soared through the air and wrapped themselves around the Dragon and Phoenix, obliterating them with ease. Wolflegs, as well as everyone else in the arena, stared in complete surprise.

Hiccup smirked. "So long, Cyber End Dragon… can't really say I'm gonna miss him!"

Wolflegs slowly turned and looked right at him again, "You won't have to miss him, because the by destroying Cyber Phoenix I get to move one card from my deck my hand." Wolflegs and drew a card from his deck and smiled at it. "Don't you see way I've calibrated my deck is that Cyber End Dragon is never really gone, I'll always find a way to bring him back!"

"You're bluffing!"

"But I'm not, Hiccup," Wolflegs looked down at the card he drew. "Because the card I play now is a Spell called Time Fusion! With it, time is most certainly on my side! By removing one card in my hand from the game, it activates," Wolflegs explained, "meaning, I can automatically call up a Fusion monster next turn, without having to wait for a single summoning requirement!"

' _So, he's right!_ ' Hiccup bit his cheek. ' _Cyber End Dragon will return, and soon too!_ '

"You can't win, and you'll see why next turn, Hiccup! Then, the Academy will see that you're a fraud!" Wolflegs glared at him, a confident look in his eyes. "Don't feel bad, you lost to the best!"

"Already writing your Graduation speech, Wolflegs?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Not so fast, 'cause I'm still here!"

"Oh please, not very much longer," said Snotlout.

"Perhaps," said Speedfist.

"He needs one good draw," said Fishlegs.

"Let's hope he gets it," said Ragnar.

"He hasn't failed yet," said Heather.

"Come on, Hiccup, try and hang in there," said Astrid.

"All right, my turn," he drew his card. "I'll place this card face down and end my turn."

Wolflegs kept looking at Hiccup as he drew his card. ' _You'll have to do better than that, Hiccup, especially after you see what I have for you!_ '

He took a card from his disk. "My turn, Hiccup! First, this returns to me! Card from a Different Dimension! I removed it from play when I played Time Fusion, but now it's back and it doesn't stop there. Next, its special effect activates and you know what that means: we both get to draw two cards!"

Both of them drew their cards, Wolflegs having three and Hiccup two. They looked at what they had drawn.

' _Too bad nothing can help you now, Hiccup_.'

' _Wolflegs must be pretty confident to let me draw cards…_ '

"And now, I call forth…" Wolflegs raised a hand to the sky, towards the light above him. "CYBER END DRAGON!"

Another Cyber End Dragon appeared. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Not again…" Fishlegs moaned in misery.

"For once," Astrid blinked slowly. "You think he'd do a combo without that dragon…"

"It's his trademark," Heather reminded.

"Of course!" Speedfist snapped his fingers. "Because the monster was summoned by Time Fusion, it can't attack until next turn!"

Snotlout groaned. "Next turn? Man, how long do I have to wait until I see Hiccup lose."

Ragnar looked down at the stadium. "I have to admit the suspense is killing me."

"I'll end my turn with one facedown," said Wolflegs coolly as he a card into his disk.

Spitelout gulped and tugged at his collar. "Dear me, I'm sweating bullets over here! Can't we just declare Wolflegs the winner yet?" he pleaded.

"Not yet, Spitelout, after all, if there's one thing I've learned is to never count my son out until his Life Points are out," said Stoick quietly, his eyes dancing with excitement.

"Besides, this is getting good," said Gobber.

"My draw," said Hiccup, having three. "All right, I Spell Card polymerization and fused together Dragon Knights Toothless and Skull…" Both Toothless and Skull appeared on the field, but vanished as quickly as they appeared. "In order to form Dragon Knight King!"

Appearing on the field was Hiccup's mighty king in all his glory with sword in hand. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2000)

"And as for the cherry on top his special ability means he gained 300 extra attack point for every Dragon Knight in my Graveyard," said Hiccup at the silhouettes of his monsters appeared behind him, "and in case you haven't been keeping track that's nine meaning he gains 2700 attack points."

Dragon Knight King was soon covered by a bright aura as his foreman comrade gave him power. (ATK: 2500-5200)

"All right, now attack Cyber End Dragon my King!" Hiccup ordered.

Dragon Knight King raised sword and charge straight towards Cyber End Dragon and sliced right through him.

Hiccup: 500

Wolflegs: 700

"Oh yeah! But, Dragon Knight King's not done yet! After your monster is destroyed, you get dealt damage equal to its attack points… and that's 4000!"

Wolflegs watched in shock as Dragon Knight King floated above him with a plasma orb in his hand.

Hiccup smirked. "School's out, Wolflegs!"

"Not yet it's not!" Wolflegs cried, pressing a button on his disk. "I play a Trap card! Damage Polarizer! Now, all damage from a special effect goes to zero!" he explained as an electric current went around the or the Dragon Knight King just threw.

Hiccup rubbed his chin, growling a little. "I gotta admit, Wolflegs, that's a sweet card…"

"And, as you said it, for the cherry on top, we both draw one card, and for your sake, I hope it's good one!" Wolflegs reached down and drew his card while Hiccup did the same.

' _I can't believe…_ ' Hiccup thought

' _I drew…_ ' Wolflegs looked at his card.

' _Battle Fusion!_ ' They finished at the same time.

Hiccup looked at Wolflegs solemnly replaced the card he got in a slot. "I'll place this card facedown and end my turn." He then looked back at Wolflegs. "I guess you're up. What's it gonna be this time?"

"You'll see!"

"Well, whatever it is, good luck, because I have a feeling that this will be the last round!"

"I agree," said Wolflegs with a nod. ' _The last round for you, Hiccup. My victory is assured. Prepare for the bitter taste of defeat!_ ' He thought as he drew his card. He looked at it and smiled.

Fishlegs gulped. "I don't like the way he's smiling…"

Astrid glanced at him. "Especially since Wolflegs never smiles. Something's up here."

"Yeah," Agnar nodded behind them. "I think we're about to see what's up very soon… get ready for the final round between the school's two best duellists!"

Heather grinned. "This duel has been awesome! I'm excited to see how it ends!"

Ragnar nodded in agreement to his girlfriend. "Same here…"

"Hiccup, it's been fun, but now, I'm afraid that it's over," he held up the card he just drew. "I activate Power Bond! Now, by sacrificing the right monsters, I can once again summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Snotlout blinked and leaned over the railing. "But how? You gotta have monster to sacrifice 'em!"

"Snotlout is right for once!" Speedfist agreed, staring as well. "His field is bare!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot… I don't need monsters!" Wolflegs plucked a card from his hand. "I activate Cybernetic Fusion Support! By trading in half of my Life Points, I don't need to make any sacrifices to summon my Fusion monster!"

Hiccup: 500

Wolflegs: 350

Once again, the multi-headed metal beast appeared with a roar, a strong gust of wind blowing around it as it roared. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

Hiccup looked up at it. ' _You know, I'm starting to get really sick of this thing_ …'

Toothless reappeared nodding. 'I couldn't agree more…'

"And thanks to Power Bond, his strength doubles!" (ATK: 4000-8000) "And next I activate this, Limiter Removal!"

"Trouble," said Snotlout.

"Very severe trouble," said Speedfist.

"All coming for Hiccup," said Astrid.

"Thanks to this all Machine-type monsters out get their attack points doubled and guess what type my dragon is," said Wolflegs as Cyber End attack points were doubled once again. (ATK: 8000-16000)

"You're through!"

"I don't think so!" Hiccup pressed a button, "Go, Battle Fusion! Now my monster gains as many attack points as Cyber End over there since he's a fusion monster!"

Dragon Knight King grew in size towering over Wolflegs' machine. (ATK: 5200-21200)

"He can't do that!" Spitelout pointed and looked at his superior. "That simply must be against the rules!"

Stoick shot up from his seat. "Oh please, this is what duelling is all about!"

"Besides, we couldn't stop this duel even if we wanted to," said Gobber.

Wolflegs looked at the Dragon Knight, but his smile remained. "Nice move, but it's all for naught! I use the Spell card Battle Fusion!" He roared, taking a card from his hand. "That's right, Hiccup, I have one too!"

"Uh-oh," Hiccup looked up at the Dragon as it seemed to grow larger with more and more attack points pouring into it's body. (ATK: 16000-37200)

Suddenly, it all became quiet. The excitement in the air, the noise from the audience, even the growling from their monsters were gone. Hiccup Haddock and Wolflegs Ingerman were now alone in their own little world, staring each other down with a look of both pride and admiration in their eyes.

"Wow, Wolflegs, you really are the best!" Hiccup praised with a smile. "I'm gonna miss ya."

"And I, you, Hiccup," said Wolflegs evenly. "That's why, I'm passing you the torch."

"Huh?"

"When I leave here, you will be the best duellist at this school. Despite your rank, you will be the best, so make me proud, Hiccup."

The Slifer's smile widened. "I'll give it my all, Wolflegs, and I'll start right here, 'cause this duel's not over yet!"

Wolflegs' head went back a little, a look of confusion in his eyes. "Huh?"

As quickly as it had disappeared, everything came back: the monsters, the electricity in the air, the anxious audience all around them.

"That's right, I still have one trick up my sleeve, and here it comes!" Hiccup waved his hand and his facedown card was revealed. "I activate the Trap known as Final Fusion!"

Wolflegs' confused look became one of admiration. "How clever…"

Toothless laughed. 'Good going, Hiccup…'

"If this card's played, both of us take damage to our Life Points equal to our monsters combined attack points! You know what that means…" Hiccup trailed off, a sly smirk now on his face.

Wolflegs nodded, his own smile coming back to his face. ""Sure do!"

Everyone watched as both Cyber End Dragon and Dragon Knight King both monsters with incredibly high attack points flew at one another. A bright glow filled the arena, making everyone watch in awe moments before a tremendous explosion rocked the room, a huge cloud of smoke covering the duelling platform.

"What happened?" Snotlout demanded.

"Who won?!" Speedfist cried.

"I can't tell!" Astrid tried to see.

"I can't see!" Heather exclaimed.

"Me neither!" Ragnar added.

Everyone rose to their feet, all of their hearts practically on the verge of stopping completely. They watched as the smoke cleared away, and they could see what had happened to the duellists. Wolflegs was on one knee while Hiccup was laying on his back. While it looked like Wolflegs survived the blast, the result of the duel was the same for both duellists.

Hiccup: 0

Wolflegs: 0

(Draw)

One by one, a student or faculty member in the stands began clapping for the duel, and for the incredible duellists that showed them what they could do. Hiccup opened his eyes and looked at the crowd, still laying on the platform.

"You okay?"

The Slifer looked up to the side to see Wolflegs standing right next to his head.

"I think so…" Hiccup said with a nod.

Wolflegs smiled and looked at the crowd. "Looks like the duel's a draw…"

"Yeah…" Hiccup nodded and looked out at the audience as well. "Does that mean… we gotta duel again?"

"Absolutely," Wolflegs looked over his shoulder at Hiccup. "Someday, we will."

Hiccup looked at him, a familiar smile crossing his face. "Cool! I guess… until then, Wolflegs."

Wolflegs held out his hand. "Until then."

"Good," Hiccup slapped Wolflegs' hand. "I could use a break!"

"Me too…"

With that, both duellists laid back and started to laugh while the crowd continued to clap for them and their awesome duel. Hiccup's friends stood there among the clapping, proud of their friend and what he had done against the Wolflegs' final school match. This was a duel that no one would be forgetting anytime soon.

* * *

Dragon Knight Sneaky

ATK: 400 / DEF: 300

Stars 1

WIND

Warrior/ Effect

This card is treated as a Dragon-type while faceup on the field or in the Graveyard. You can discard this card from your hand to activate on Spell Card in your opponent's Graveyard and us it as your own.

Dragon Knight Guardian

ATK: 1900/ DEF: 2600

Stars 6

EARTH

Warrior/ Fusion/ Effect

This card cannot be Special Summoned, except by Fusion card is treated as a Dragon-type while faceup on the field or in the Graveyard. You opponent cannot attack any other card, but this one and any damage dealt by this card is doubled.

Dragon Force

Trap Card

Select one Dragon-type monster on your side of the field and doubled attack points until the end of the turn. At the End Phase of the turn destroyed the monster this card targeted.

Card image: a dragon growing twice its size.

Dragon Knight Horn

Trap Card

Activate only if one of your monsters is destroyed in battle. Look for your deck for a monster with Dragon Knight in its name with level four or less and summon it to the field.

Card image: Dragon Knight Skullcrusher blowing a horn with the Dragon Knight emblem on it


End file.
